Shin Megami Tensei I  Digital Devil Story
by DrakeHellrath
Summary: Before Persona, Devil Survivor, Strange Journey or any of the others. There was the story of Kazuya Akanaka and his blood stained struggle against a world that wishes to die. A Shin Megami Tensei novelization.
1. The Dream

**Prologue: The Dream**

_A/N I do not own any of the characters or concepts in regards to Shin Megami Tensei, this is a fan work and is non-profit._

**1994 Kichijoji, Tokyo**

Through a maze of featureless pink corridors wanders a young boy, his mind drifting aimlessly amongst a haze of shallow consciousness. He has been here before; every night for the past year this dream has been the only constant in his life. A journey through the mists of a world he knows nothing of is where Kazuya Akanaka finds his only sense of peace. This is the only place he knows where his intellect will not help nor hinder him; a place where no one will fill him will hollow praise regarding his programming talent or criticize him for staying true to his pessimistic and cynical outlook on life and whatever lies beyond.

No, here all he can do is wander the hallways of his unconscious mind, free of responsibility or commitment, only answering to himself.

"Solitude… I ask for nothing more." He whispers to himself in contentment. Kazuya turns a corridor and looks forward upon a long pathway that extends beyond the horizon of his mind. In the distance he could make out no distinctive features, only a light that seemed to shine upon all in his own vision. He was puzzled at first, after all this was the first time that such a long pathway had ever appeared to him in his dreams. Every night prior he would spend twisting and turning through an endless maze of pink hazy walls with no end in sight. Kazuya looked upon that light and sighed and shrugged his shoulders.

"The proverbial light at the end. I only wish I could have evaded you longer and let my journey last forever. But even I am not so stubborn as to try and escape fate." Kazuya mused quietly in dissatisfaction at the prospect of reaching the end of his journey.

Despite his disappointment he marched towards the light his mind speculating with every step as to where he was going and what would he find when he reached there. He noticed an alternate pathway which could lead him from the light but he simply passed it. He had seen the end of his journey and like it or not, he knew he had to face it.

That was however, until a concrete wall with a man's face blocked his path.

"What?" Kazuya exclaimed as he bent his legs and raised his right arm defensively. He wanted to turn away but he found that his vision was fixed upon the face that was encircled with characters that he didn't recognize.

"Who dares attempt to pass this place!" The face on the wall announced with a deep booming voice that sent shivers through Kazuya's skin, he tried to maintain himself but was frozen in fear. Naught a moment passed before the wall continued.

"He who does not state his name shall not pass! Identify thyself!" The wall roared with a conviction that Kazuya had never known before in his life. Taken far from his comfort zone the young man forced his body to stop from shaking. Swallowing a lump in his throat Kazuya brushed aside his anxiety and put on a confident front and spoke directly to the wall that blocked his path.

"My name is Kazuya, Kazuya Akanaka. Sorry to disappoint." He addressed the wall in the same manner he had taken to introducing himself to anyone else he met. He added the second statement as a means of playing with his reputation as the prodigy programmer who would turn out to just be a reclusive teenager. He adopted his trademark scowl with his head tipped forward and his eyes staring directly under at you while his brown hair framed his face. The wall however showed no reaction to Kazuya's attempt at intimidation and instead continued talking.

"The one named Kazuya has dormant power." The wall spoke in a tone that was far less bombastic than prior. The change in volume provoked a small smirk on Kazuya's lips, thinking that perhaps his attempt at matching the wall's tone had succeeded.

"Make use of this gift." The wall instructed Kazuya who raised an eyebrow at the comment only to feel a rush of power flow through him.

"What are you doing? Why do I feel so…. alive?" Kazuya muttered in a daze as his body seemed to gain a new sense of strength and ability. The sense of elation quickly faded however and he found himself once again staring down at this wall that for some reason could speak.

"Kazuya…" The wall spoke his name with a greater familiarity than he would have expected. It was almost like the way a parent might address their child, a manner that while comforting for most, was off putting for him.

"Beyond this door, both those chosen by god that follow the path of Law and Order, and those that rely on their own power, that follow the path of competition and Chaos await you."

"The path of god? You can't be saying that-" Kazuya tried to interject but was unable to silence the concrete wall that appeared to know the contents of the world beyond him.

"Take care not to tip the balance between the two as you proceed." Warned the wall before it split in half and opened unveiling the light beyond that previously held an air of mystery to it. Now however, he had the vague musings regarding the balance of Law versus Chaos to consider. Though upon further reflection he realized that he still had no idea what to expect when he reached the light and the end of the hallway.

"Law and Chaos? What does this have to do with the end of my journey? Ah well, no use in speculating while the answer is in sight." Kazuya put aside his piling questions and moved forward towards the light disregarding for the moment the nonsense that the wall had spewed to him. When he finally reached the light Kazuya realized that he had arrived at a dead end. But before he could sigh and return to his wandering he felt his body pull himself to the right and through a small series of pathways until he noticed an object above the horizon. He moved forward and soon the object grew larger in size and it appeared in front of him blocking his path. It was a symbol that made him reflect further on what the wall had said. It was a crucifix, with the outline of what appeared to be a person bound to it.

"A cross? In my subconscious? It's appears that my prior theories were incorrect. Wherever I am, this is not my mind." Kazuya spoke to himself until he noticed that there was a figure in a blue robe staring at him. He couldn't make out much of the figures features apart from its crouched over posture and hollow gaze. A silence followed for until the robed figure spoke.

"This soul has been offered to god." The robed man spoke (the voice indicated the gender) with a disturbing level of pride. Kazuya frowned and without questioning the bizarre nature of his situation scowled at the man.

"Any god that would delight in the offering of souls is a tyrant. Release him at once." Kazuya ordered clenching his fists as he spoke. The man however only chuckled.

"If you call his name he shall awaken. Please call his name." The man requested in a manner that only irritated Kazuya further. He was not normally the altruistic type, but even if one disregarded Kazuya's hidden compassion for people he was still a man of logic and practicality. And things such as needless sacrifice for abstract goals and metaphysical concepts irked him to no end.

"I don't know his name! Even if I did, it wouldn't matter! Just release Yuji or I'll have to try and force you to understand my logic!" Threatened Kazuya, preparing to force his fist against the robed figure's seemingly frail frame. However the robed man showed no signs of intimidation and instead lowered his head as the crucified soul began to shake from its bindings.

"It appears that Yuji has dormant power." The man muttered with a mix of discontent and intrigue.

"Wait, Yuji?" Kazuya probed his thoughts trying to understand how he knew that name and that the soul on the cross held it. However those questions had to be put aside (like the others) the moment that the soul broke free from its bindings and fell to the ground only to quickly stand upright.

"Wh…where am I? I was trying to accomplish something but I forgot what…." Yuji pondered out loud clutching his head in confusion. Kazuya folded his arms shook his head.

"At least you had an objective in mind, up until recently I've just been wandering this maze aimlessly without any destination or conclusion." Kazuya remarked adopting his trademark attitude when dealing with people. Sarcasm was the only way he knew how to break the ice.

While most where off put or somewhat amused by Kazuya's sense of humour Yuji however turned to face him with a look of great amazement and respect. This took Kazuya a but by surprise as usually people looked at him like that before he opened his mouth.

"You saved me, didn't you?" Yuji added with a genuine look of gratitude. Kazuya tried to maintain his cool and retorted.

"I suppose, but I didn't really do anything special. I mean, apart from saying your name which I knew for some reason." Kazuya responded trying to downplay his involvement. He knew that he wasn't thinking to save Yuji for the sake of being a nice person, so he felt guilty in being seen as a hero when he didn't deserve it.

However, Yuji simply shook his head and smiled.

"Either way, I sense that if I go with you, I'll remember what it was that I was supposed to do. So please take me with you" Yuji pleaded with exaggerated arm movements, getting kind of close to Kazuya in the process. Kazuya blushed slightly for reasons that disturbed him greatly and nodded his head.

"Okay, okay! You can come with me, just please! Not so close! I like my personal space thanks." Kazuya exclaimed turning his head from Yuji has he gently pushed him away.

"Alright, sorry. I'll keep my distance. By the way, I'm Yuji Tokumura, what's your name?" Yuji asked politely while taking his place next to Kazuya but with a fair space between them.

"My name is Kazuya, Kazuya Akanaka. Sorry to disappoint." Kazuya answered adopting the same tone and pose he had used when dealing with the wall. He quickly regretted this action as right afterwards Yuji started to laugh in a manner that told Kazuya that he had just sounded really stupid. Kazuya tried to hide his embarrassment by scowling until Yuji stopped.

"Sorry, it's just the way you said that sounded so melodramatic. I don't mean to hurt your feelings or anything. Honest!" Yuji stopped laughing and bowed for his rudeness. Rather than focusing on the matter Kazuya decided to brush the whole thing off and focus on something that had started to bother him.

"Hey did you see where that guy in blue went? He seems to have just vanished." Kazuya asked prompting only a shrug of the shoulders from Yuji.

"No clue, we should get going anyway. Maybe we will find answers at the end." Yuji concluded and started to walk through the hall ahead of Kazuya. He pondered briefly on whether to push the issue but realized that they had nothing to go on but speculation at this point. Realizing that Kazuya ran over to Yuji and the two walked through the maze of corridors.

The two walked in silence until they saw another outline of a person, on the ground. Kazuya held back and prepared his fists while Yuji ran over to the figure only to stop when he realized that another figure was standing on top of it.

"Hey get off of him! He looks like he needs help!" Yuji yelled at the figure on top. The figure turned to Yuji and laughed scaring him a bit. The figure had dark tan skin and no features expect for pointed ears and red evil eyes. He looked like a demon of some sort, a creature that seemed to actually pose a threat to the two boys.

"This is the soul of a weak one who desires power. If you call his name he should wake up." The demon cackled prompting a scoff from Yuji.

"I-I don't know…" Yuji muttered quietly

"What was that! Go on, call his name." The demon taunted, pressing his right foot against the soul's head and his left against the soul's left thigh, crushing them in a manner that prompted the soul to cry out in agony. Yuji watched the scene in horror while racked his mind racked for the answer but came up with nothing. Biting the proverbial bullet Yuji yelled back at the demon.

"I don't know his name alright! So don't ask me." Yuji admitted shamefully, his body shaking in guilt and frustration. The demon saw Yuji how quickly lost his confident disposition and laughed victoriously.

"Then... he will die." The demon spoke with sadistic glee as he prepared his hands to rip the souls apart. Yuji braced himself for the oncoming violence when Kazuya who had surveyed the scene walked forward and stared the demon down.

"Takeshi, Takeshi... Kuromori. That's his name right?" Kazuya speculated based upon another whim he had suddenly felt in his gut. Yuji looked over to Kazuya in surprise when the demon simply cackled.

"Well, we will just have to wait and see." The demon said with a sinister grin.

The three didn't have to wait long to see signs of life as Takeshi rose from under the demon groaning like one would expect after awaking from being knocked out. The demon jumped out of the way and smirked.

"He may be weak, but he still has a good deal of strength left." The demon added in a manner that sounded slightly sarcastic. Takeshi grabbed his head and groaned a bit more before looking directly at Kazuya

"…Why did you wake me up!" Takeshi shouted at Kazuya with an accusatory tone and strength that surprised all of them. Kazuya, who was honestly not expecting such a statement thought for a moment about what to say. Yuji on the other hand, placed his arms at his sides and remained silent. To him a person's first meeting was an extremely important event, and the way in which Takeshi had responded to their kindness with complaints bothered him far more than he knew he should have been. He decided he would keep a close eye on this new person, already having a poor impression of this new companion of theirs. Kazuya on the other hand wasn't all that offended by the remark. He was very familiar with people who didn't adhere to social constructs. After all, he considered himself to be one of them.

"You had a demon on your back about to kill you, would you have preferred we left you alone?" He sarcastically inquired prompting a disapproving glare from Yuji who had only now recovered his bearings. Takeshi took a step back seemingly genuinely surprised by the news and stroked the back of his head.

"Was I? Rats and I was having such a good dream…" Takeshi added with a pout which to Kazuya came across as rather stupid. Rather than confronting him with the absurdity of such a statement Kazuya decided to do what he did best… more sarcasm.

"Well, perhaps I could knock you out right here and send right back to dreamland which is apparently not where we are now." Kazuya mockingly threatened him even cracking his knuckles to accentuate his point. Takeshi winced at the prospect and started to cower in a manner that only served to egg Kazuya on. The demon realizing his part was finished vanished in the middle of the scene.

"Ahem! Before we resort to fisticuffs like a bunch of brutes perhaps we should finish our journey first?" Yuji interjected spoiling the mood and causing Kazuya to retract his threatening advances.

"Point taken, c'mon Takeshi, you can dream later." Kazuya outstretching his hand which was previously about to punch Takeshi and instead opened it so that the two could shake on it. Takeshi sighed in relief but immediately afterward pretended to be disappointed that the two didn't fight.

"Damn. Oh well, let's get out of here." Takeshi accepted the handshake and the three started moving together through the pink maze. While they moved they introduced each other and started to talk about what they remembered before meeting each other. However they didn't get very far because the next place they went was into a room that was pitch black from the outside. And in the inside was a beautiful naked woman bathing in a pond.

"HOLY SHIT! BOO-Hmmmph" Takeshi was about to exclaim until his mouth was covered by Yuji who then quickly grabbed him and forcibly tore him away from the seemingly erotic sight.

"Avert your eyes man! A lady has a right to privacy when she is bathing. We have no right to gaze upon her in such a personal moment." Yuji lectured Takeshi in whisper while hiding the two of them behind some of the rocks. Takeshi struggled for a short time kicking and squirming against Yuji's weight until he found and opening and pushed himself free. The two of them caught their breath and glared at each-other. Neither thought at the moment to check how Kazuya was reacting to the situation.

"If that's the case then why the fuck is she bathing in a pond where anyone can see her? Besides it's not like I was going to whip my dick out and start ma-" Takeshi found himself silenced once again when Yuji tackled him to the ground and covered his mouth with his arms.

"Shut up! Please I do not want to hear anymore from you!" Yuji whispered scathingly to the Takeshi all the while fighting his own urge to sneak a peek. It was only then that they realized that Kazuya had stepped into the pond and was now staring right at the woman.

"Dude…" Takeshi muffled in a mix of jealously, shock and respect for such a ballsy course of action. Yuji in a surprisingly nodded in agreement.

"Who's there?" The woman asked still keeping her back turned away from the three boys. Kazuya felt his cheeks light up in embarrassment but for some reason he couldn't bring himself to look away or hide like the others. Even stranger he felt compelled to answer her.

"Kazuya, Kazuya Akanaka, sorry t-" Kazuya's token introduction was cut off when the woman turned to face him with a warm smile across her beautiful face.

"Ah… it's you, Kazuya" She remarked in excitement her body edging closer to him as she spoke. Kazuya found himself unable to tear his eyes off her despite the voices in his head screaming to do so.

"Y-yeah, y-you know me?" He stuttered out in a manner that prompted a flirtatious giggle from the mysterious woman.

"My name is Yuriko, I've been waiting for you." She spoke to him a low voice that sent shivers down his spine. Instincts and desires that Kazuya had long since dismissed as meaningless were going crazy at this moment as it seemed every word she said was planned for maximum impact.

"Y-you, h-h-have?" He asked almost afraid of what she would say next. Yuriko saw how embarrassed he was and giggled again, she loved seeing the normally stoic and cold Kazuya getting flustered at the sight of an attractive woman. Yuriko moved closer to Kazuya who froze as she advanced. She moved her arms from her chest and placed them around Kazuya's waist and raised her lips to his ear and whispered softly to him.

"Yes… as your eternal partner…"

"…"

With those words Kazuya bolted from the pond grabbing Yuji and Takeshi as we ran.

"Dude! What was that all about? Is she your girlfriend or something or are you some kind of chick ma-" Takeshi found himself cut off once again by Yuji who shoved his fist against his mouth.

"Just drop it horndog! We have more important things to deal with." Yuji scolded Takeshi while turning to Kazuya who simply nodded and looked away.

"I just want to get these dirty thought out of my head as soon as I can." Kazuya added with a sigh placing his hand on his temple. Just as he said that another female voice found its way into the ears of the three boys.

"Kazuya, how long are you going to sleep?" The voice of a middle aged woman stopped Kazuya dead in his tracks and sent another extremely uncomfortable feeling over his body.

"MOM! Well there goes my boner." Kazuya exclaimed loudly then added quietly to himself. The other three looked at him and then each other and bother surprised the urge to laugh at the situation.

"Just because you have today off doesn't mean you can oversleep!" The voice of Megami Akanaka lectured in that stern voice that only a mother can.

"It's not like I do anything on the days I don't have off or anything." Kazuya snidely remarked under his breath.

"Come on, get up!" His mother commanded prompting a whiny groan from Kazuya who saw the pink labyrinth begin to dissipate around him. In time his consciousness left the realm of unconsciousness and returned to the reality that he so wished to escape.

"But Mooooooooom!"

**END OF PROLOGUE**

_A/N: So that's the first chapter of my novelization of the original Shin Megami Tensei. I've been wanting to this for a long time but until now have never had the courage to try. I've searched the site but I've never actually found a fanfic for the original series so I wanted to try and create one myself._

_I know it isn't perfect so if you can give me any criticism you feel is valid. Having said that I'm painfully neurotic and have rather low self esteem so if you have any praise or words of encouragement then I'd love to hear them._

_I'm trying to stay close to the source material (I have the game running while I write.) but as you can see I'm taking some liberties with the characters (especially Kazuya who is a silent protagonist originally.) I'm trying to write things with the reactions of the characters in mind hence where there was no way I couldn't write the scene with Yuriko and not have the characters comment on it._

_Oh and in case anyone is wondering, this will follow the neutral path (as that's the canon route)._

_So until next time please read and review._


	2. Awakening

**Chapter I: Awakening**

_A/N I do not own any of the characters or concepts regarding Shin Megami Tensei, this is a fan work and is non-profit. _

"No buts mister! It's time to wake up." Megami Akanaka threw the sheets off of Kazuya's bed and started to gently nudge his body from the indent he had made.

"Just a little longer mom, please." Kazuya pleaded his head still glued to his pillow. His mother placed, frustrated by her son's lethargy, placed her hands on her hips and sighed.

"Kazuya, how long are you planning to sleep?" Megami asked with a cold stare that seemed primed to make Kazuya feel guilty for his laziness. Kazuya moaned again, he wasn't a morning person by any definition, and like most teenagers he had a tendency to stay up late against his parents' wishes.

"I was up all night programming my game; I even sent the demo file to Steven, he was really impressed! So it's not like I wasn't being productive or anything. So can't I at least have today to sleep?" Kazuya tried to reason in futility with his mother who he knew would have none of it. Ever since his father had left she hadn't really listened to a word he said anymore. And just as he expected his mother simply shook her head and moved to start opening his windows.

"Just because you have today off doesn't mean you can sleep all day! Come on, get up!" His mother commanded for the final time. Kazuya complied and rose from his bed just as his mother left his room. His room was somewhat small cramped but sparsely decorated. His bookshelf was filled with programming manuals, horror manga, and issues of various science & occult magazines. But at the center of his room was his computer, a top of the line system that he had built from the parts his father had left behind. Before he moved to clean himself up, or even get dressed Kazuya darted for his computer chair and accessed his messages.

"Can't imagine I'll have anything new but- hey I've got another e-mail from Steven!" Kazuya exclaimed his previously dull face now brimming with curiosity and enthusiasm.

_**DDS-NET**_

_**Date: 1994 – 10 – 16**_

_**Name: Steven**_

_**To: Everyone accessing this network**_

_**Humanity is currently in grave danger! Demons of legend from ages past have awakened from their long slumber. Soon, they will overrun the earth! In order to compete with the demons and fight for our survival we will need to utilize their power. Use this program correctly and you should be able to! I pray that those with the courage to use it will accept it. To fight the demons that would destroy us, and to preserve humanity.**_

"…" Kazuya fell silent as he read each line of the message with his mouth agape and his eyes stunned. He made not a single sound until he had reread the message enough times to where he was sure he was able to comprehend it. On one hand he was skeptical by nature and his interest in mythology stemmed purely from his interest in ancient belief systems and cultural traditions. But simultaneously he had messaged with Steven frequently in the past and knew him to be a likeminded person who would never lie or allow himself to be deceived by such talk. Not only that but he couldn't help by be reminded of the bizarre dream he had had last night.

"There's an attachment…" Kazuya whispered so quietly it could barely be heard. The file was indentified as , it's extremely large in file size indicated to Kazuya that a more powerful machine was needed. Rummaging through his desk drawer he found the custom laptop his father had sent him just last month. It was at least 10 years ahead of its time by Kazuya's estimation and was the only computer he had that would be able to store and use such a complex program. It was designed to fit onto his arm and had an exterior that could take any amount of punishment and still work. He hadn't used it previously due to a grudge he still held as well as a fear of not being deserving of such a masterpiece of technology.

Kazuya pulled out a cable and connected the two computers allowing for his laptob (or armcomp as he called it.) to download the file. The download finished just as he heard banging on his door.

"Kazuya, how long are you planning to sleep!" His mom yelled once again extracting a frustrated groan from Kazuya who simply turned his head and yelled back.

"I'm already up mom! I just have to get dressed and I'll be down in a minute." He exclaimed knowing that if he didn't start getting dressed now he would be bothered for the rest of the morning.

Megami moved around the kitchen the radio playing gently in the background. She smiled and hummed to herself a victory theme when she heard the shower head turn on in the bathroom. She knew that she was being hard on her son but she was afraid that he was going to turn into his father. A man who some called "the Japanese Bill Gates" and had left the family for America when he was offered millions of dollars to work for an American hardware developer. Megami and Kazuya had never been the same since, both feeling like the backwater hicks who were being abandoned for the sophistication and luxury of the United States technology sector. Even though they knew such a view was far from the truth, it somehow felt like an apt simile.

"Morning mom!" Kazuya announced with smile as he entered the kitchen wearing his typical outfit with grey slacks, a light tan turtleneck both with a stripped pattern at the bottom and a partially zipped up green jacket that had two very large front pockets on each breast.

"You certainly slept well last night!" His mother added trying to make conversation to break the tension of earlier. Kazuya simply shrugged and sat down for breakfast.

"Even though the police sirens were blaring at all hours, you slept right through them. I barely got any sleep at all!" She commented prompting a brief pause in Kazuya's eating while he contemplated this new development.

"Police sirens?" He asked not quite sure what to make of this. The police were usually pretty quiet in the city and were often very careful to try and not wake people up. He looked over at his mother who nodded and took a seat across from him. She paused for a moment wondering if he was going to exclaim "thanks for the food." As was the custom but she wasn't surprised to see him ignore it. Not bothering to bring it up again she continued on.

"Yep, and for that many police to be involved, it must be a huge case." She added hoping to provoke some reaction from her son greater than slight curiosity. Instead he continued on eating only muttering briefly between bites.

"Suppose so."

Megami gave up and pondered what she was trying to remember to do today. She then stood up suddenly alerting Kazuya who looked over at her.

"Ah, that's right." She exclaimed moving over to her purse which was located on one of the spare chairs next to the table. She pulled out her wallet and took out some money and placed it next to Kazuya's plate.

"Here's your allowance for this month." She indicated before moving back to her plate up. Kazuya eyed the money which amounted to ¥10000. He pulled his wallet from his left breast pocket and placed the money inside.

"Uh, thanks mom. I, uh mean it, really." He responded unsure of how much appreciation to show. It wasn't that he didn't appreciate the money, he just afraid of coming on too strong and looking silly in the process. His mother noticed this behavior and smiled.

"That's all for this month, don't waste it all too quickly." She reminded him prompting Kazuya to chuckle lightly at just how stereotypically mom-like she sounded.

"I won't." He added gathering his dishes to up to be cleaned later. Kazuya was about to head to his room when his mother called for him again.

"Kazuya!"

"Yes?"

"Could you go down to the café at the mall and buy some coffee? Be sure to play them in advance!"

"Okay. I'll head out in a minute." Kazuya responded as he gathered his headphones and his armcomp. All the while his head was flooded with thoughts regarding his dream last night, the e-mail he got from Steven and the cop sirens that he apparently slept right through. All of these events seemed to be independent of another but he was starting to wonder if he could make some connections in his mind.

"Alright I'm heading out now." He announced his departure with a wave. Megami turned around and waved back.

"Be careful, Kazuya. Don't stay out too late!"

Kazuya was about to leave when suddenly Pascal, Kazuya's dog, ran over to him and started barking. Kazuya smiled widely and bent over to pet his one and only loyal friend.

"I'll be back soon boy, keep mom safe while I'm gone." Kazuya gently pet Pascal while giving him his instructions. Pascal nuzzled against his owner's hand and smiled and panted as if to say "Yes sir!". Megami watched from a distance and found that a look of hope and pride had crept onto her face.

"If that boy can learn to open up to others like he can to that dog, he just might come out of his shell." She mused openly to herself as she did the dishes.

Kazuya listened to music on his headphones as he walked down the street and headed towards the local mall. He glanced over at the home of his doctor neighbor whose daughter he had had a crush on once. The whole thing had passed with nothing happening so as it stood now the home meant nothing to him. On the way he also spotted some of his classmates from Karukozaka High School. The only one he knew by name was Tamaki, and that was only because she was the only one who would try to talk to him. To everyone else he was just the brooding programmer prodigy. While nothing came of her attempts he appreciated the sentiment of them and hoped the best for her.

Before Kazuya could make his way to the mall, he felt he needed to find out what was the reason for the police roadblocks that he was saw blocking the path he would normally use to go to school. He approached one of the blocks and before he could say anything, was ordered away by an officer.

"Due to our continuing murder investigation, this area is currently off limits." The policeman said sternly to the teen.

"Murder? Who was killed?" Kazuya inquired having heard of this for the first time. The policeman simply shook his head.

"We aren't ready to release any names to the public but what we will say was that she was a teenager and was found dead last night in Inogashira Park. We are asking for your cooperation in not attempting to leave the area." The policeman then fell silent and Kazuya realized he wasn't going to get anywhere pressing for more information. So he left the blockade and tried to focus on the task at hand, getting coffee.

Kazuya eventually found his way to the mall and started looking around for the café. He didn't get out much so he didn't know the location by heart. Hearing some voices of kids his age he turned a corner and thought to ask them for directions.

He would immediately regret this decision.

"Hey do you guys know where the-… oh shit." Kazuya cursed at himself as he was stared down by four tough looking gangster types with leather jackets, oversized hoodies, half-shirts and the like. The tallest one (who Kazuya assumed was the leader) spoke up.

"Hey you! Get your ass out of here!" He snarled causing Kazuya to do a 180 twist right out of that potentially dangerous situation.

Surprisingly Kazuya found he didn't need to go far until he found the café just a few shops down. He entered the store and was greeted by a cute waitress wearing a suitably appropriate uniform.

"Welcome!" She exclaimed with a cheeriness that Kazuya assumed by default to be fake. He looked at her for a moment but then turned and walked past her only quietly saying "Thanks" as he moved by, just as his eyes were off her the girl turned to look at Kazuya again taking note of his disinterested attitude.

"…sigh." She moaned before turning back to her duties. Did he not recognize her? They were in the same class after all. The least he could have done was say hi, or compliment her on how she looked in the uniform. They didn't have to get that close, but she thought it would be nice to see him lighten up once in a while.

Kazuya briefly took note of his surroundings which were mostly populated with fellow students from Karukozaka High. He knew that this was a popular hangout spot for many of the teens in the area which is precisely why he didn't go here that often. Despite his hope to get the deed done in peace another classmate called for him to join their table.

"Hey Kazuya! Come here! You've got to here this!" The voice continued on. Seeing no way to politely refuse the offer Kazuya took a seat next to the girl who was calling him.

"Alright what is this all about?" Kazuya asked wanting to get this over with. The two girls at the table looked at each other, nodded, then looked over at Kazuya.

"Oh Kazuya…" The girl next to Kazuya forcibly grabbed his arm and sandwiched it against her chest. Already the other girl started holding back a laugh while pointing at the two. Kazuya averted his eyes and gritted his teeth not wanting to show any level of discomfort. The first girl batted her eyes and held his arm closer.

"Mayuzumi was the girl that was killed in the park, you know? She was in our class remember? I'm so scared." The girl put on the most over the top performance she could it seemed in trying to cute the crap out of class 1-B's stoic genius. Kazuya forced himself to try and hide his blush under the bangs of his hair but despite his efforts, they knew.

"Wow, I'm sorry to hear that." Kazuya stammered out trying to defuse the situation.

"Okay Tomo that's enough! I think Kazuya get's the picture. You can release his arm now." The other girl advised in between stutters of laughter. Instead Tomo faked an upset tone and held on.

"But I'm not dooooooone! Not only was Mayuzumi murdered, the killer dismembered her body too! And what's even worse is that rumor has it that the doctor who found her body is suspected of being her killer. Think about it? If the doctors are the killers, who cure us when we're hurt? Oh Kazuya! You'll protect me right? From that evil doctor" At this point Tomo's friend was again in hysterics. She sat her coffee down and held herself back from being any louder than she was.

"Yeah, that's a great idea! Get the pasty computer geek to save us! He'll invent a giant ray-gun and zap that creep to dust or something." She suggested prompting a grunt and sigh from Kazuya who knew that what he was about to say would only feed the beast.

"Actually I'm specialize in software not hardware." He added to the predictable result.

"Even better! You'll create a virus or some shit. Brilliant!" The girl laughed again until she was stopped cold by a firm hand on her shoulder. She slowly turned her head to find Yuriko, dressed in black business suit and an irritated look on her face.

"I will thank you not to mock my Kazuya young lady." Yuriko warned with a imitating glare that worked to stop both girls in their antics.

"O-okay, yes m-maam!" Both girls said in unison as they took their drinks and left the café scared for their lives by this very protective older woman.

"Bye…Kazuya" Tomo said lightly to him as she left, her tone indicating that she saying that purely as a formality and in truth just wanted to leave.

Kazuya got up from the table and stared wide eyed at Yuriko who seemed to enjoy the attention.

"T-thank you, I-I guess." Kazuya wasn't sure how exactly he should deal with the appearance of the woman he had met in his dream, now in the flesh. He started to wonder if maybe he had met her before and that's why she was in his dream. But that explanation didn't satisfy him very well.

"No trouble at all my eternal partner." Yuriko acknowledged his thanks with an intimate hug followed by a kiss on the cheek. She started to stroke his head in an affectionate manner and stare intently at his face.

"It's like a dream seeing you again in a place like this!" She remarked in a tone that seemed almost too sweet.

"I suppose you could say that." Kazuya returned trying to avoid her gaze.

"Alas, I have many things to do today so I'm afraid we must part for now. But we will meet again my dear!" Yuriko said goodbye and left the café not taking her eye off him until she had left the store. The girl at the front of the store tried to send her off but instead she shoved her aside and scowled leaving the waitress rather confused.

Kazuya wanted to stop to get his head around what he was experiencing but concluded that it just wasn't worth doing at this point in time. Compared to the possibility of a demonic uprising and the warning implanted in his dreams, girl troubles just seemed secondary. Deciding to waste no more time he went to the café shop front where he was greeted by a mustachioed man with glasses.

"Welcome! … oh it's you Kazuya." He sounded vaguely disappointed by his appearance. The situation was that Kazuya and his mom both went through a lot of coffee and she and the store owner had apparently gotten rather close. At least the owner thought so.

"Yeah… just me." Kazuya added deciding to just play along.

"I assume you're here for your usual coffee?" He inquired already preparing the correct bag to give him.

"Yeah, the Akanaka favorite please. How much is that exactly?" Kazuya asked, pulling out his wallet in the process. The owner however shook his head.

"Money? Don't worry about it, I'll bring it to your house and you can pay me then." The man offered with an ulterior motive that was as clear as could be to Kazuya. While he didn't want to bring the man down, he wasn't exactly thrilled about having another man hit on his mom while she was still getting over dad.

"Are you sure? I've got my allowance right here and no other plans today. I can just take it now and leave you be for the rest of the day." Kazuya offered just in case he wanted to second guess is rather bold move.

"Seriously! It's all right! Don't worry about it!" The man reassured Kazuya raising his tone of voice to a level that indicated that he was trying to say "don't cock block me kid!".

"Alright, in that case I'll just take a mocha to go." Kazuya took some money from his already open wallet and placed it on the counter.

"Okay that will be ¥500 which you have right here… and here is your mocha." He took the money and handed Kazuya the mocha all the while trying to maintain the fake smile that was plastered all over his face.

"Much appreciated." Kazuya said his thanks and left the café intending to head home. However before he left he overheard a conversation that gave him pause.

"Excuse me." Kazuya interjected causing the boy and his friend to stop talking.

"Yeah? What is it?" He asked Kazuya simultaneously irritated that this random guy felt it was appropriate to eavesdrop on their conversation, and intrigued for the same reason.

"You said something about demons right? And a drugstore? Care to elaborate?" He asked prompting an awkward glance between the three of them for a moment.

"Sure…. There's this crazy guy behind the drugstore with a knife who's attacking anyone who comes near. All the while babbling about monsters or demons or something." The man finished and Kazuya thanked him for the info and left the café with something else to contemplate.

Kazuya walking by the drugstore when he heard a man whimpering in what appeared to be fear from behind the store in question. He looked around at the few other people in the mall and noticed that none of them seem to be doing anything about it. His curiosity brewing, Kazuya slowly made his way behind to the source of the sound.

There he found a man dressed similarly to himself brandishing a knife that seemed to be having a psychotic episode.

"Hey, are you alright? What do you know about demons?" Kazuya asked the man who began cower the moment he appeared.

"W..What do you want! What is that thing!" The terrified man shouted pointing his knife very threatingly at Kazuya. Kazuya looked around and at himself trying to figure out what he was talking about.

"What thing? What are you talking about! I'm completely unarmed." Kazuya approached the man and unzipped his coat and opened it up.

"See? No weapons." He tried to reason with the crazed man but he was having none of that.

"S..Stay back! No! No, don't come any closer! Get away from me!" The man grew crazier it seemed by the second and he started to wildly swing his knife around sobbing all the while.

"I'm just trying to understand what's going on so please put the knife down and I'll listen to you." Kazuya once again tried to pacify the situation but the man suddenly changed from frightened to angry.

"Come any closer and I'll cut you to…" The man was about to attack Kazuya when suddenly he saw a dark figure come from behind him and dart at the man's neck.

"A…Agh, Agh… AAAAAARGH!" The man cried out in pain and terror as the creature bit onto the his neck and like a rabid dog tore his throat out. Blood gushed out from the open wound splattering across the ground freezing Kazuya where he stood.

"W-What the…" He mouthed to himself as he finally got a good look at creature who had committed the murder. He recognized it from his studies it was the Gaki, a creature born of greedy, jealous spirits who have an insatiable appetite. It was dark purple with a goblin like body with distorted limbs and a prominent belly. It had sharp fangs that the moment Kazuya noticed them, he found the creature wrapped around his body biting at his own neck.

"I- I can't die… not yet." Kazuya grunted out as he struggled to force himself free from the creature. The Gaki gripped his chest tighter and prepared to tear at his throat in the same way it had the man before. However at a crucial moment he forced the demon from his body and stared the creature down.

The demon didn't stay long and quickly ran off leaving the corpse and a knife nearby. Kazuya slowly approached the corpse and looked down at the blade, then back at the corpse, then at the blade, his mind desperately trying to focus on the right course of action.

"I might need this." He concluded grabbing the knife and placing it in his right breast pocket. He considered calling the police but didn't like his chances of not being accused of being the murderer. It was merely a matter of pragmatism. That justified it enough to him for now. Clutching his wound he left the mall remembering why he didn't leave the house very often.

"I'm back" Kazuya announced as he swung open the door expecting to be greeted by his mother or at least by Pascal. Instead all he was greeted by was the most ominous feeling he had felt in his entire life. The walls have scratches on them and many pieces of furniture were knocked over. There wasn't a single sound Kazuya could make out other than the sound of whimpering. Kazuya took off his shoes and slowly turned around to see Pascal on the ground making a sound that immediately told Kazuya that something was wrong.

"Hey boy, what's wrong?" He asked bending over to check to see if Pascal was hurt. Sure enough he had many bloody gashes across his body and bite marks around his neck. Kazuya stared at the sight of his beloved pet with disbelief, tears almost forming in his eyes.

"Pascal… my best buddy, my best dog… even you? Why…?" He asked himself almost wanting to just bury his face in Pascal's fur. But instead of that he shook his head and wiped the tears off his face.

"No, this isn't the time to be crying. Pascal is hurt and I need to help him. I'll find mom, she knows where the first aid kit is. Right! Hold on buddy, I'll be right back." And with that he ran for the kitchen where he was sure mom would be preparing lunch.

But when he arrived he saw that his worst fears had been confirmed. And the sight of his smiling mother did little to comfort him. No, that was the worst part of all. That was the piece that didn't fit. That was the part that he couldn't accept. And the next seven words that would come from his mother's mouth would be the first time he had ever heard them said in a context that told him that this wasn't just his mother playing the part of the traditional housewife. No this was far worse.

"Welcome home, Kazuya. Where have you been?"

END OF CHAPTER I

_A/N: Thank you very much for your reviews! I really appreciate your comments and your praise. I haven't written fanfiction in years and this is honestly the first one I've written that I consider to be of any worth. I've read over your concerns and will address them below._

_Kazuya maybe be a sarcastic, brooding, awkward loner right now, but through all the things he's going to through you'll find that he's going to be maturing and developing a lot through his journey. I hope that he at least came across as likable (if not kind of a jerk. ) But hey, I wanted to get across that he's a teenager who has no idea what he's getting into._

_I have changed some details and added many scenes as you probably noticed. It's all for the purpose of trying to keep a coherent (to the level I can) narrative, as well as flesh out the world and the way Kazuya interacts within it. Many of the scenes with the NPC's were inspired by the dialogue they give in game. The bit with the girl in the café I came up with on the spot (actually I write all of this on the spot… yeah.)_

_I really hope I can translate do this game justice, so keep reviewing guys, and I'll do the best I can._


	3. Daybreak

**Chapter II: Daybreak**

_A/N I do not own any of the characters or concepts regarding Shin Megami Tensei, this is a fan work and is non-profit._

Megami Akanaka greeted her son only to see him staring at her like a man possessed by a demon. His eyes were bloodshot and his breathing was extremely heavy. Quickly growing concerned for her only son she ran over to him and did the first thing that came to her. And that thing just so happened to be shaking him violently while shouting his name.

Kazuya's vision of his home in shambles started to dissipate as he felt his body roughly being shaken back and forth. In his mind he could hear only screaming and the sound of flesh being torn. At first the sight of his home, a symbol of his peace, his sanctuary, and the murder he had recently witnessed, were one, in a scene that perverted the only thing he held as sacred. The trauma of which had left him catatonic for the moment. As the scene of his mother at home and the man being murdered separated he felt his mind darken and his senses leave him.

By the time they returned he was lying on his living room couch with Pascal sitting right next to him whimpering in concern.

"Pascal? Mom…? What the…?" Kazuya mumbled, his eyes slowly opening to the sight of his mom smiling genuinely for the first time in months. A tear fell down her cheek and his lips began to tremble until they opened.

"Welcome home, Kazuya where have you been?" She asked her son again with an embrace that nearly smothered the boy. Kazuya, not understanding what was going on, simply accepted the hug and decided to play along with the script of their usual interaction.

"Just at the mall, staying out of trouble as always." He reminded her soaking in this new and far more pleasant reality. He turned his head to see Pascal whose face lit up the moment they looked at each other. Kazuya started to pet Pascal gently while his mother gave her son some room.

"Alright, but remember. Try not to get home so late, it makes me worry." Megami reminded her son as she watched Pascal jump onto the couch next to him.

"Ah, but you do know I'm a night owl right mom? I can't help my nature." He added with a slight chuckle. His mother faked a sigh and shook her head in mock defeat.

"Well I suppose it's good for a boy your age to be active. Hey Kazuya have you heard?" His mother asked getting slightly excited at the prospect of spreading some news.

"Heard?" Kazuya responded with a drone realizing what this was probably going to be about. His mother always sounded cheerful when delivering bad news, he had no idea for sure why. But his father had once joked that it was a defense mechanism she created to deal with her parents when she brought home bad grades.

"A girl from your school was killed in Inogashira Park." She explained running over to the kitchen to retrieve the article that was in the newspaper. Kazuya's smile fell flat when he was reminded of the grim scenario he encountered at the mall and the various horrifying revelations that fell prior. Feeling too contemplative to respond Kazuya fell silent to the immediate concern of Pascal who brushed up against the boy in support.

"It sure has become a lot less safe recently. I don't feel safe walking the streets at night anymore…" Megami informed Kazuya who now was unable to look her in the eye. She remained blissfully oblivious to her son's sudden moodiness and decided to just try and brush this aside. While thinking of a way to provoke a reaction from him she noticed his hand affectionately petting Pascal who seemed to share his mood almost perfectly.

"Oh, that's right! Be sure to take Pascal on a walk occasionally!" She added with an authoritative shout. She then leaned over her son for a few moments hoping desperately that he would feed off her positive energy and at least move a muscle. She blinked in anticipation for what seemed like an hour before surrendering and storming off to her room to read.

"Okay." Kazuya responded long after his mother had departed.

Memories of the man's murder along with the murder of one of his classmates had held over Kazuya's head like a storm cloud leaving him in a perpetually grim mood. No matter what he did to try and distract himself he couldn't bring himself to do anything about his worries. He just wasn't equipped to deal with this sort of thing. For all his programming genius he was still a teenage boy who lived in a country relatively free of such violence. Or at least he thought he had. And the delusion he had of coming home to his mother as a demon did little to alleviate his already growing concerns for his sanity. Deciding to try and turn his mind to something he did understand Kazuya went to his computer and checked his messages, only finding one new message. Kazuya sighed guessing at the contents before reading.

_**DDS-NET**_

_**Accessing…**_

_**Date: 1994 – 10 – 16**_

_**Name: Steven**_

_**To: |47_(_)¥**_

_**I haven't finished my next program. Please wait a little longer. I'm sending the manual to the Demon Summoning Program, please look it over.**_

Kazuya knew the drill by this point and hooked up his armcomp to his computer. The download quickly finished and Kazuya decided to give it a look over in the morning. At the moment he just wanted to sleep. Stripping down and slipping his to pajamas Kazuya dropped onto his bed and curled up into the covers. Realizing that this world held no peace for him any longer, Kazuya fell asleep hoping the world of his dreams would grant him comfort.

"Good night, Kazuya" His mother told him moments later after peering in to see how he was doing. She realized that he was already asleep and shut the door.

The dream world met him with a sense of comfortability and ease that was far from deserved. While cryptic and ominous Kazuya was confident that here he could not get hurt, and that alone made in vastly superior to the real world in his eyes.

He took note of the blue colour that the world had now adopted and began walking down a narrow path. He didn't get very far before being greeted by a featureless outline of a person.

"Hiya, Kazuya we meet again." Yuji announced waving his hand in a friendly manner. Kazuya sighed and folded his arms. He paused for a moment internally discussing on how to proceed. Eventually he decided to try a personable approach to smooth things along.

"Yeah, good to see you too Yuji." Kazuya said back to him identifying who it was by the voice. In fact that was the only way he could tell him and Takeshi apart.

"Yo, Kazuya." Kazuya heard a voice come from behind who he quickly identified. Turning around he met his gaze with the other featureless body.

"Looks like I'm having yet another funky dream." Takeshi commented taking his place on Kazuya's left. The other two nodded in agreement.

"It seems are connection was more than a coincidence." Yuji postulated to the others.

"Guess so, well, let's get this effed up dream going!" Takeshi exclaimed with a raising of his fist. The two other boys complied and they walked down the blue corridor turning a corner after corner until they met up with another familiar face.

"I'm happy to see you again, Kazuya!" Yuriko squealed out enveloping Kazuya in a hug as she did.

"Woah, hey!" Predictably Kazuya blurted out in a flustered state all the while trying to hold her at a distance. Yuji and Takeshi looked on at the scene with different reactions. Yuji turned his head away politely and closed his eyes thinking it rude to peep on such an intimate display. Takeshi on the other hand couldn't help but be jealous of Kazuya who was being embraced by a voluptuous woman wearing a very sexy fetishlike proportioned business suit.

"Don't forget that I will always be by your side…" Yuriko repeated her mantra just as she pulled herself away from the object of her affections. She turned and winked at Kazuya before skipping past the three boys and down the twisting blue corridors. Kazuya watched her leave a hint of red still remaining on his cheeks. Takeshi noticed this and growled.

"Man! Even in my dreams other guys get all the chicks! What gives here!" He shouted to no one in particular causing Yuji and Kazuya to simply sigh and pat his back in response.

"Just let it go buddy, hey, maybe there'll be a cute girl waiting for you down this hall?" Yuji suggested with a hopeful smile. Takeshi fixed his posture and meekly turned his head.

"Really?" He asked without a hint of sarcasm. Yuji simply nodded while simply Kazuya groaned.

"Sure whatever, let's just go." He ordered taking hold of his position as the pseudo-leader of the three. Yuji and Takeshi looked at each other hoping at the other one might know what had gotten into Kazuya but found that neither had any clue. Realizing they had nothing else to do the three wordlessly followed the hallway to two other turns and then into another pitch black room.

What they saw when they entered was a strange ceremony taking place. There were four torches lit with burning flames that seemed to be placed with a specific intent there was a circle with many complex symbols and patterns on it as well. But the most important part was the three men and the featureless outline of a young woman. Two of the men stood horizontally across from each other and were clothed only in large blue hoods with eye slits and a white image on the head. Both stood on guard with swords held in both hands pointed at the ground. In the center there was a man wearing a large blue robe with his arms raised and his mouth chanting. The woman was floating above them all her body lying helpless to do anything.

The whole scene brought to mind an ancient pagan ritual or a demonic sacrifice or something along those lines. The three stared wordless to such a bizarre demonstration until Takeshi broke the silence.

"What's this weird ceremony?" He asked not quite understanding what was going on. Yuji shrugged his shoulders.

"Do you think they're trying to summon some sort of demon?" Yuji asked while the three hid in the dark corners of the room.

"Whatever the case, I'm not willing to bet that those swords are purely ceremonial." Kazuya added taking note of the threat that intervening posed for the three boys. They looked at each other, wordlessly confirming their mutual desire to not get involved quite yet.

"…Take this young soul, our sleeping dark master!" The priest yelled out in an overtly melodramatic fashion. The armed men slowly began to raise their swords in perfect unison preparing to strike. It became clear now that their intention was to sacrifice the girl.

"We've got to do something!" Yuji whispered to the others. Takeshi however shook his head in disagreement.

""Take a good look, the guys in the back have these big ass swords, and we're unarmed! We don't stand a chance!" Takeshi reasoned to himself prompting Yuji to get mad and grab his shoulders.

"So you're just going to let them sacrifice her!" Yuji quietly lectured Takeshi shaking him like a man personally insulted. All the while Kazuya just stared at the girl his eyes entranced by this image of a maiden in distress. Images of the man in the mall cycled through his mind along with the delusion he had of his Pascal severely wounded.

"Look, we don't know what's going on yet so we can't just risk our lives on a whim like this. We have no idea if she even wants to be rescued right. So the logical thing to do would be to wait. Right, Kazuya?...Kazuya?" Takeshi turned his head to where Kazuya last was only to find that he had run off to stop the ceremony. Takeshi watched in awe as he stood pushed over one of the torches causing the flames to startle one of the executioners.

"Seriously? He gets to play hero….again?" Takeshi whispered only now regretting his decision to not get involved.

"Who dares interfere with our ceremony!" The priest loudly announced while Kazuya stood directly across from him.

"My name is Kazuya, Kazuya Akanaka. Sorry to disappoint." He repeated his introduction while sending his fist into the stomach of the priest with a speed that left no time for the executioners to intervene. The priest groaned loudly as he held his stomach and just then the girl spoke up.

"Kazuya! You've come to rescue me! Quickly call my name!" The girl commanded with a bright enthusiasm that confused and surprised everyone involved. Kazuya stood back for a moment and probed his mind for her name like he had for the others. He clenched his fists and closed his eyes trying to tap into the part of his brain that had the answer. The executioners prepared their blades to attack Kazuya while he searched for the answer. Their swords almost struck when he opened his eyes and shouted out his answer.

"Yuka! Yuka Takahara!" Kazuya belted out causing the swords to retreat instantly and the priest to stare wide eyed at Kazuya.

"What!" This girl's name is Yuka!" He asked for confirmation in absolute shock and horror. Kazuya nodded in response causing the priest to hold his head in bewilderment and fear.

"Oh my god! If that's true, then ...Aaaargh!" The priest screamed out in pain as his body began to dissipate along with the other two men. His echoing cry filled their ears as Yuka slowly dropped to the ground and got up. She held herself and walked over to Kazuya getting quite close in the process.

"Thanks, Kazuya. I almost got sacrificed!" She thanked him earnestly holding his hand while doing so. Kazuya turned away and closed his eyes.

"It's fine really." He muttered still not used to being so close to girls. Even if they were just outlines of one. Yuka saw this act of modesty and shook her head before placing a hand on his head kindly.

"No, if I had been sacrificed, a terrible Demon Lord would have been summoned." She added with a sincerity that almost got to Kazuya's core. However the wall around his heart wouldn't allow such a gesture to reach him so instead he turned away and averted his gaze.

"Whatever… I just didn't want to see those cultist freaks triumph. Although I suppose you being okay is a nice bonus." He retorted with his typical level of snarky wit and defensive attitude that was endearing to some, and annoying to others. Yuka however was far too happy to let such an attitude bother her so instead she stretched out her body as she felt her livelihood return.

"Ah, I can feel the power that had been drained from me returning!" Yuka remarked while Kazuya stood back slightly embarrassed by her antics. She saw how bashful he was acting and decided to try and just be honest with him.

"We will not meet until later in the future." She prophesized to Kazuya who took notice of this and found some measure of comfort in it.

"Oh…" He said feeling more comfortable knowing that he wouldn't have to deal with her and Yuriko at the same time. It wasn't that he didn't like her, he just had enough trouble with one overly affectionate woman in his life. She saw this change in attitude and continued

"And then it is our destiny to be separated again." Her tone became a little sadder after relaying this information. Kazuya's mind jumpstarted at the mention of the word destiny which to him seemed rather loaded language.

"Destiny?" He said to himself wondering if he could really accept that such a thing exists. He lowered his head in thought which Yuka took as an opportune moment to depart from him.

"Come see me some time." She offered him before walking off into the blue labyrinth that lay outside. Yuji and Takeshi who hadn't said a word during this whole exchanged ran out from the shadows to meet with Kazuya but before they could reach him the dream world began to dissipate around them.

The place that had once been the comforting force in his life had now become one of the most perplexing and populated places in Kazuya's life. Not just a few days ago this maze had been his own personal hiding spot, a place where he was alone to wander forever with only his thoughts to keep him company. But with that heaven burned he was without a place to call his own. The ramifications of such he could only guess at in the days that would follow. As always his mind would return to reality guided by the voice that always had.

"Kazuya, how long are you planning to sleep?" Megami asked her dazed son while following the same routine that she had performed the day prior.

"I'm up mom, you can stop now." Kazuya grunted out as he rose from his head and began to scratch his head and yawn.

"You have school today so you better get going young man. Breakfast is already prepared and I've got your uniform ironed and ready." His mother commanded while opening his windows.

"Okay, I'll have a shower and be down in a minute." Kazuya shooed his mother out and walked over to his computer. He decided now would be a good time to check the manual to this Demon Summoning Program he had received, but when he accessed his computer. He found that he had received a new message from Steven.

_**DDS-NET**_

_**Date: 1994 – 10 – 17**_

_**Name: Steven**_

_**I have completed my auto-mapping program, and have attached it to this message.**_

Luckily Kazuya had kept his armcomp connected from last night so he had no trouble in downloading the file and transferring to his armcomp. He questioned why he would need such a program but wasn't willing to spend time on such a question with much more pressing concerns at hand. He also opened the document on demon summoning and gave it a quick skimming until his attention was interrupted.

"Kazuya, how long do you plan to sleep!" Megami shouted while banging on his door provoking a frustrated growl from Kazuya.

"I'm awake mom! You can stop asking that alright!" He yelled back at her getting really tired of her constant nagging. Getting out of his pajamas he took his shower and got dressed into his uniform making sure to place his armcomp on his wrist just in case before leaving for breakfast.

"Good morning, Kazuya!" His mom greeted him once again causing Kazuya to simply roll his eyes and sit down to eat. Megami took note of her son's behavior and wondered if it had anything to do with the "incident" she had overheard last night. She giggled lightly to herself at what she might discover by probing the issue further.

"What happened to you last night? You were calling out to someone in your sleep." She asked Kazuya who dropped his chopsticks at the moment she said it. Instantly getting embarrassed he turned his flushed face away, already knowing how this was going to go.

"I-I have no idea, what you're talking about mom. I wasn't calling out to anyone." Kazuya defended himself, his face red from knowing how she was going to spin his reaction. Megami laughed at her son's all too cute reaction and decided to tease him more.

"I think it was a woman's name. The girl next door, Yuka, was it?" She wondered out loud knowing that Kazuya had had a crush on Yuka many years ago. She was concerned for her boy's love life and was hoping that the hormones had finally kicked in so she could start seeing her little man bring home girls once in a while. She figured that if he could find himself a sweetheart, he might be able to open up to the world and get out of the funk he was in.

"I-it wasn't h-her." Kazuya retorted unknowingly admitting to his mom's accusation. All this while his mind was plagued by fears of what might happen when his mom brought this news to the neighbors. He was in the same class as Yuka after all and he was already uncomfortable enough at school for his tastes. His mother continued on enjoying this dialogue far more than she knew she should.

"Eh? Why are you turning all red all of a sudden? It can't be." She exasperated in mock surprise causing Kazuya to reach his peak level of embarrassment.

"Okay I'm done here, be back later bye!" Kazuya stammered out quickly as he dropped his plate, grabbed his school back and headed for the door.

"Be careful, Kazuya. Don't come home too late." She reminded her son while he shut the door and ran for school leaving Pascal by the door feeling slightly neglected. Megami walked over to Pascal and placed a dog treat in his mouth.

"Who knew my son was such a cute tsundere?" She said to Pascal who seemed to bark back in agreement.

Kazuya put on his headphones and made his way to school his mind still reeling away from the incident this morning. Between his mother's teasing and home and the strange people in his dreams Kazuya now looked at School in a more… positive light. It was, at least a place where he was confident he could just keep to himself away from a world that he felt he understood less and less each day.

The walk to school however was interrupted by a sight that caused him to scream out in agony. Just as he was about to turn a corner he saw something creep into his line of sight and appear before him. The creature in question was… a human? Some sort of Yakuza guy? He looked relatively typical for a gangster expect for his skin which was so yellow it looked like it came from an old American Propaganda poster during the second world war. The man was holding a knife and had a thirst for blood in his eyes. Kazuya turned to his sides to see if anyone else could see him but everyone else just walked by like nothing was happening.

"W-what do you want?" Kazuya questioned the man his own fear starting to take hold of him. The Yakuza member snarled and spat at the ground.

"You little brat! I'm sending you six-feet under!" He yelled at Kazuya swinging his knife in the process. Kazuya jumped back and narrowly dodged the blade his mouth wide open scared for his life.

"Hey! What are you doing! Stop!" Kazuya shouted back reaching to his pants pocket for his knife. The Yakuza member took note of the blade and cackled in a tone that didn't sound human. The sound of his laughter brought Kazuya back to the time when he tried to save Takeshi from that demon in his mind. Not only that but the way his eyes were red and without any pupils made it clear to Kazuya that whatever this man was, he wasn't human. Gripping his knife in his right hand Kazuya cast his fears aside and darted towards the demon and with a piercing strike stabbed him in the chest.

The demon looked down at the wound and laughed again. He simply walked backwards and then swiped forward his knife cutting diagonally in a curved motion at Kazuya. Kazuya turned at the right moment and avoided most of the strike, the blade leaving only a cut across his left arm. Pivoting to the right Kazuya stabbed the demon again and this time got him in the back. He plunged the knife as deep as he could until he heard a gasp from the demon. Kazuya withdrew his weapon and let the creature fall to the ground in a pool of blood.

"What have I done?" He asked himself as he watched the corpse bleed for a few seconds until it dissipated into nothingness. Even the blood on his face and his close disappeared and with it any evidence of this encounter ever occurring. He looked around to see if anyone had seen this fight take place. But no one even looked at him. Two people had fought with each other with knives in the middle of suburban Tokyo, and no one batted and eyelash. Nobody cared to even ask what was going on.

Kazuya suddenly felt very alone in the world, even more than usual.

END OF CHAPTER II

_A/N: Sorry for the wait, now that summer is over my responsibilities are taking up more of my time. Not only that but I recently got my hands on the first Raidou Kuzunoha game and it's taking up plenty of my time (this project was actually something I was doing in between Megaten games.)_

_Despite that I will continue to try and update, but on a rather whimsical schedule. I apologize if my writing is confusing and poorly done, I'm not very good at editing and I've got a lot to work in. The humorous tone of these chapters I understand may seem a little "off" in what is really a very dark game. But I felt that I couldn't write these scenes without humour and whimsy shining through. Otherwise it would feel like the characters were being angsty simply for angst's sake. At any rate the horror elements should be coming to the forefront soon along with the departure from the "everyday life of Kazuya Akanaka" format the story currently has._

_Also in case you're confused by the fake out at the beginning of the chapter, let me explain. As I mentioned before I write this series while I play the game. However my memory isn't the best for remembering certain details. So when I wrote the end of the second chapter I didn't realize that the um... "Incident" at home doesn't occur until later on. So rather than trying to rewrite the ending (which I already loved.) I decided to just make it a bit of foreshadowing for later._

_So until then please read and review!_

**Kazuya: **Are you honestly going to end the chapter here?

**Drake: **What?

**Kazuya: ***sigh* the chapter you moron! You're going to end it without even getting to the damn demon summoning? What the hell do you think people read this story for?

**Yuji: **As much as I appreciate your effort Drake, I have to agree, you've been doing a rather poor job at transcribing our story so far and I'd like to see you make more of an effort.

**Kazuya: **Hey you're right Yuji! What gives Drake? Making me into some prissy, whiny, emo-teen genius? I wasn't anything like that in the game!

**Drake: **To be fair, you didn't have a personality in the game, you were a silent protagonist.

**Kazuya: **HEY! You're saying just because I had no back story or dialogue, that I had no character!

**Takeshi: **Sounds like it, I wouldn't take that Kazuya. If I were you.

**Kazuya: ***laughs evily* oh I don't need to do anything when I've got allies.

**Drake: ***clears throat* A-allies?

**Kazuya: **That's right, hey Naoki!

**Naoki:** Yes?

**Kazuya:** This guy says that you don't have any character or personality. That you're just a dull player substitute with no real identity of your own.

**Drake:** WHAT! I didn't say that! I've never even agreed with any of that crap!

**Naoki:** Dull and uninteresting hmmm? Apparently being the Demi-fiend isn't enough to impress you. *cracks knuckles* perhaps my talents will change your mind.

**Drake:** Oh shit…

The following asskicking has been omitted due to a combination of epic level awesomeness and violence so intense that it cannot be described in narrative form.


	4. School Day

**Chapter III: School Day**

_A/N I do not own any of the characters or concepts regarding Shin Megami Tensei, this is a fan work and is non-profit._

Kazuya's walk to school remained fairly normal after the struggle he had with a demon yakuza member who had seemingly randomly attacked him. Fortunately for him the blood spatter on his face and clothes had disappeared after the fight. Unfortunately the rip on his uniform's jacket remained. Not wanting to deal with any questions regarding its origins he took the garment off and placed it in his backpack.

"I know I should be more fixated on why that guy would attack me, but for some reason all I can think about is how I beat him." Kazuya quickly entered his thinking stance and spent the rest of the walk rewinding the whole scene in his head. Every movement, every swipe of blades, every word spoken, he analyzed to death hoping that there was some sort of clue to be found. Lost in thought he remained oblivious to the increased police presence that seemed to be at every street corner, scenes of people walking by as aimless as he was, suddenly collapsing to the ground in pain.

"The average human mind cannot grasp the sight of a demon at first. Their place in the material world is tenuous at best, at least, in the beginning." An elderly police officer standing near one of the blockades spoke gently to himself just barley within an earshot of Kazuya. He hoped that the teenager would hear him and perhaps even say something back. But alas, like all of his predecessors he was the silent type. And even if he did help the young man, his journey would be one he would have to take alone. Besides, he couldn't afford to take up the mantle and fight demons again. His time had passed; his skills had waned over time. And besides, he had a grandson to watch over.

Kazuya arrived at Karukoza High and headed for his shoe locker. With his headphones still blaring he had effectively cut himself off from the world around him. It took the sight of Yuka Takeuchi, the girl his mom had been teasing him about that morning, to get him to turn around and pay attention to something. Stealing a glance at her while she wasn't looking he examined her features for the first time in a while. She was a fairly typical looking girl, but she was kind of cute in that regard. With a friendly face and short (for a girl) brown hair that fell behind her ears, she seemed more down to earth and realistic than some of the other girls at his school who in his opinion tried too hard. She was talking with some other girls about something or other when he saw her suddenly wave over to him.

"Aw crap…" Kazuya muttered burying his face in his hand when he realized that she was talking to Tomo and her friend.

"Hey Kazuya! What's up?" Yuka asked with a kind enough tone. She placed her hands in her skirt pocket where they seemed to be glued in place.

Tomo and her friend however snickered at the sight of Kazuya trying to play it cool, in what they knew for him was a rather, difficult scenario.

"Not much really, just programming, playing video games, reading, the usual." He was tempted to add "killing demons, having prophetic dreams, hallucinating about my mother's death." To the list but decided not to bring it up in case they believed him.

'I see, 'bout what I expected for you, same old Kaz, huh?" She remarked with a slight laugh. The somewhat tomboyish air that Yuka had around her disarmed Kazuya's defenses quite a bit. This caused him to become uncharacteristically bold in his line of conversation topics.

"Hey Yuka…" Kazuya asked while scratching the back of his head.

"Yeah?" Yuka replied still oblivious (or apathetic) to Kazuya's subtle level of discomfort.

"Did you… have a dream last night?" Kazuya blurted out squinting his eyes from seeing whatever facial expression she might have at that moment. Tomo placed her hand over her friend's mouth that was already starting to suppress her from making some rather inappropriate commentary.

"Eh, probably... What kind of dream are you talking about? 'Cause I'm actually pretty well versed in the various types of dreams people have and what they mean. That is of course, if you buy what those books say." Yuka replied in a candid manner that was exactly the sort of answer that made her so approachable to people. Friendly and informal, these were words that she wore like gloves.

"You know, the type where you're wandering around a single colored labyrinth meeting featureless people in vaguely religious and/or spiritual contexts?" If the exclamation "WTF" had existed at this point in time, then this would be a textbook case of its correct usage. And indeed that was what was going through the minds of Tomo and her friend (as well as anyone else who overheard him.) Kazuya realized this however and before he was able to make some snarky remark to disengage himself from this incredibly awkward scene, she responded.

"Eh? I didn't have any strange dreams like that." Yuka responded without any change in facial expression or tone of voice. She didn't even seem that interested or concerned. Kazuya breathed a sigh of relief which was followed by a probing of his mind for an explanation as to how she could be so flippant with her response. Didn't any of this intrigue her? Didn't she think he was a weirdo? Well, the she probably already though the latter, he reasoned. So it would make sense she wouldn't think much of his strange questions.

"Hey weren't you talking about your plans for after school Yuka?" Tomo asked Yuka in an effort to break the silence. Yuka realized this and slapped her forehead.

"Oh yeah, argh… I was going to go on a date today, but with those stupid police, I can't go anywhere. This sucks!" Yuka groaned in an exaggerated manner. Tomo's friend seemed to perk up at the return to their previous topic and inquired further.

"Oh yeah? Who was the lucky fellow? This guy here?" She asked leaning over to Yuka while pointing at Kazuya who shuffled away from that position the moment she pointed there. Yuka shook her head in response.

"Kazuya? Nah, he's just an old friend. My date's a senior. So he's no one you would know." Yuka responded with the kind of calm, relaxed tone that would be a major strike to the pride of any guy in Kazuya's position. And while Kazuya was no exception in this regard he minimalized the damage with layers upon layers of reasoning and cost/benefit analysis.

"So who is he? We're just curious. Honest! Although I bet he isn't good enough for you though." Tomo asked in place of her friend who was somewhat dissatisfied with Yuka's lack of a dramatic reaction to her posit that Kazuya was her date. Watching cheesy, melodramatic High School romance and laughing her ass off at it was what she lived for. And when it failed to live up to her expectations, she felt understandably let down.

"That's none of your business. I can go out with whomever I please, yeah?" Yuka responded with a disarming wink that indicated that she was only playing along with what she perceived to be the script that this situation was supposed to have. Tomo and her friend both sighed in defeat and agreed. They continued to talk about various things that didn't concern Kazuya so he took his chance and headed for his classroom.

_She remembered nothing about the dream that means that the Yuka in my dream was someone else? Well, I suppose that sounds right. The two of them don't sound or act anything like each other so I suppose even without knowing what this other Yuka looked like it's enough to go on._ Kazuya thought to himself during his first period. He didn't really pay attention much at school and with all of the police activity and the murders around town; it seemed that he wasn't the only one. Even his teacher seemed to be only partially interested in what he was saying.

The lunch period came and went with exactly one exchange between Kazuya and anyone else. While he was eating his lunch one of his classmates turned to him and whipped the headphones off Kazuya's ears.

"What's up?" Kazuya asked disregarding the somewhat rude way that he had been interrupted from his thinking time. The boy in question was Hazama, one of the more "strange" people in the class that Kazuya had almost never spoken to.

"Hey Kazuya, Some strange old man was looking for you!" Hazama passed on the information and left immediately before Kazuya could even ask for further details, such as a name, or an address, or anything of any value. Kazuya sighed and placed his headphones back on and returned to his quiet place.

The afternoon classes were similarly dull for Kazuya who found little to nothing interesting in what was being said. In his notes he sketched out some doodles of the things that stuck in his mind, the altar, the cross, the corpse, the face, all of these things spoke volumes about the way that his world was shifting before his eyes. The days of mundanely for him were done, and he wasn't sure whether he was prepared for the changes that would follow.

The class ended and the students began to exit the building in a hurry. However they were in for a surprise when they were greeted by police officers guarding the exits.

"Hey! What gives!"

"Why are you stopping me? I've got to get home now!"

"This is bullshit! This isn't a police state! I thought we were safe from this kind of stuff!"

"I just want to go home and study! Why are you harassing a studious student like me!"

The collective sounds of various students complaining made a deafening noise that attracted a lot of attention from people even outside the school. The police made an effort to try and contain the mass of students, explaining that their orders were to check the students for weapons. This was in fact a cover for their actual job of keeping the students from the demon infested streets. Secondary to their mission was the investigation of an anonymous tip they had recieved. It claimed that some of the students made have had a connection to the demons, either in affinity or alliance.

Kazuya stood in the courtyard at the entrance of the school and saw how slowly the process was going. He realized that with his knife on him he was likely to be singled out. He understood that the obvious course of action was to simply get hid of the knife. However, he found that he couldn't bring himself to do it, for whatever the reason the threat of danger outside the school overpowered the possibility of getting arrested to him.

"I need to stay armed… I can't fight those demons without this blade." Kazuya spoke quietly retreating to a secluded part of the school grounds. Most of the students were congested at the exits waiting to get through. So he wasn't expecting to be found by anyone, let alone a police officer.

"I was waiting for you son." An elderly officer greeted Kazuya with a honest smile. Kazuya froze in place and turned slowly to face the man. Despite his age he still seemed to be in fairly good shape. His face was aged but in a manner that made him looked more rugged and dignified than frail and decrepit. He wore a hat that did not match his uniform and looked to be at least 70 years old.

"A-are you the old man who wanted to see me?" Kazuya asked unable to project an image of a cool, confident teen against this figure that just seemed to command respect by his presence alone. The man shook his head and bowed in response, causing Kazuya to do likewise in return.

"No, but it's my responsibility to make sure you get to him. Just call me Mr. Shirogane." The man started walking towards one of the back entrances and beckoned Kazuya to follow.

"Mister? Well, I guess you are kind of old to be an active officer." Kazuya reasoned prompting a smile and a nod from the old man.

"A very astute deduction, indeed I am not a police officer; I'm actually a retired detective who is volunteering to help keep the peace. I've been working with the police for many years so they made an exception for me despite my age." The man's explanation sounded rather suspicious to Kazuya who seemed to be more complicated than he was letting on. Regardless Shirogane led Kazuya towards a back entrance that was slightly less crowded.

"The demons have begun to appear in our world, and while they are weak now, they will grow in strength and numbers very quickly. The link between our realms is still fresh and most of humanity is still unable to comprehend the nature of the demons." The man turned and explained this to an even more surprised Kazuya who was finding it hard to imagine such insane words coming from such a seemingly intelligent man.

"If humans can't comprehend them, how to we see them? If at all. And if we don't, how do we explain the way they impact tangible reality?" Kazuya put forth the question flashing back to the times he had dealt with demons, in both cases there had been people around. But they had done nothing. The question had baffled him, how could people just walk by while somebody is being attacked? Wouldn't somebody help? Well, Kazuya knew the answer; people didn't actually care at all. They were just like Yuji and Takeshi, one too afraid to act, and the other too willing to rationalize not acting. In either case, they could tell that something was wrong, but they accomplished nothing.

"They appear as human normally to those unable to comprehend their demonic nature. Many of the more sophisticated ones are even likely to take on human personas and manipulate human affairs. Only the few with a connection to Makai can witness their true form." The man explained once again the mysteries of the demons to an open ear who was still trying to accept that not only did demons, exist, but they were a major threat to humanity. Kazuya was full of questions to ask but somewhere in his brain, a voice was screaming for him to stop. He feared that if he learned anything more about their predicament that he might lose his will to even try to fight back.

"I've already checked this young man and he's clean." Shirogane explained to the police officers guarding the rear exit. The two of them had cut through a line of students leaving a trail of frustrated teens behind them shouting and screaming about the grave injustice that had just been committed.

"You seem to garner plenty of respect for a simple volunteer, sir." Kazuya snarked prompting a light chuckle from Shirogane who moved to pat Kazuya's head in response.

"Not bad, you remind me of a partner I once had. But you are right in pointing that out. Truth is that I was called into action by one of the biggest figures in the Japanese military to help deal with what's to come." Shirogane kept the conversation going despite leaving plenty of ambiguity to his true identity.

After that exchange the two walked traveled for about a half hour in total silence. All the while Kazuya looked around seeing the subtle signs of the demonic invasions beginning effects. Homes would be often seen with broken windows and destroyed mailboxes. Some power lines had been torn down and cars had been broken open. On the rare occasion he could see corpses laying on the ground their cut down and devoured. And yet, whenever the pair ran into a demon, it would quickly run away cowering in terror. Shirogane showed no surprise upon seeing the demons; in fact his level of comfort was more and a little unnerving to Kazuya.

"I've gone as far as I can take you." Shirogane spoke breaking the silence that the two had held.

"Alright, but one question. How did you know I had contact with demons?" Kazuya quickly inquired not remembering his ever dispensing of that information. He wasn't sure that he was ever going to meet Shirogane again so he made clear to ask now. The elderly detective sighed and pulled out a katana from his back and handed it to Kazuya who eyed it intently.

"I know a devil summoner when I see one, and while your powers may be very different from my own, the core is the same. If I could I'd tell you everything about the demons, how I know about them, and how to stop them. But my duty is to the people of Tokyo first, and so I can't spend any more time away from them in this time of need. The man you will meet soon will tell you more I promise, and eventually I'll just be a distant memory. So go take this katana and don't let your talent go to waste." And with that sentiment still on his lips, the old man walked off leaving Kazuya standing in the middle of the road carrying a katana that despite being brand new, felt older than he could imagine. It was then that he started to speak, but the name that he bid farewell to he didn't recognize.

"Goodbye Raidou Kuzunoha the 14th." He added with wave as he walked down on his way, placing the sword on his back.

Back at the school, the crowds of students had waned only slightly since Kazuya's departure, the interrogations and the searching of bags had become even longer and more complicated as a means of keeping the students in the school, where they police felt they would be safe. The demons outside the school had become a greater threat than the police had anticipated and they were spread too thin for Raidou to be able to kill them all. The police had no clue how to tell who the demons were or how to stop them. All that when combined with the growing number of bizarre new facts dug up in regards to the murder in the park indicated that they had no idea what they were fighting against.

But for two particular students at Karukoza High School, that wasn't the most important thing at the moment.

Takeshi lay his back against a shelf in one of the empty classrooms and sighed a breath of utter disinterest. Pulling another cigarette from his pocket he lit it up with a fire he produced from his thumb. He inhaled the smoke and tried to send his mind as far from all of the shit that was going on outside. His army camo duster sunk behind him like a blanket and he turned his head to the ceiling where he stared the tiles mindlessly.

"As long as I'm not getting my ass kicked by Ozawa and his thugs I honestly don't give a shit about anything else right now. Besides, what have I got to go home to? A walking stereotype of a stern Japanese father and a mom who's just waiting day by day for the divorce papers to go finally go through? Or maybe I go hang out at the mall and get beat up by thugs and slapped by girls who think I'm a pervert for just trying to talk to them. YES! THERE'S A REASON I'M LOOKING AT YOUR CHEST!" Takeshi lashed out at no one and took another smoke and sighed, lowering his head.

"It's because I'm too shy to look you in the face, and that way I know if you're about to hit me… heh… the lessons I've learned from getting bullied, I could fill a book with 'em." Takeshi chuckled a bit in self-deprecation. The only thing that really interested him anyone was the dreams he had been having recently. The guys in his dream may have been insensitive assholes, but at least there he thought he was among likeminded people. He had considered getting to know them outside his dreams, but he figured there wasn't any point. Kazuya may be a sarcastic loner like himself, but he was smart and capable and in fact endeared just as many people as he put off by his actions. He wondered how many times he was going to overhear a girl talking about how she would be the one to "change" him and "open his heart". The bastard pushed people away, ignored his classmates, blew off potential friends and hid his face in a computer monitor. Takeshi on the other hand knew that he would kill to be able to talk to someone and not end up sounding like a sociopath.

Takeshi's filled his head with these thoughts until he just couldn't bear to contemplate his situation any longer. Without realizing it he slowly let his consciousness fade and fell asleep.

Yuji's family connection to the military would have meant that he would get a free pass from the inspection. However he refused to leave until Yuka was also allowed through. He had been dating her for almost a month now and he felt a great responsibility to stick by her in a time of confusion and danger like this one. Rather than try to force Yuka to the front of the line however, Yuji felt that it was only fair that he wait by her in line to be inspected. The rules were there for a reason, and as long as the rule of law was morally just, he felt obligated to follow it, regardless of personal inconvenience. And so he stood together with Yuka, his hand firmly clutching her own, like a knight protecting his lady.

"Are the officers being too noisy? I'll ask them to stop if the sound is bothering you." Yuji asked in concern for his beloved's hearing. He knew that she didn't like loud, obnoxious people or sounds, but was often too level headed to say anything. Yuka turned her head and smiled.

"I'm fine Yuji, I've been around crazy people my whole life. It's going to take a little more than this to get under my skin." She reassured him with a grin. Yuji was a bit protective she admitted, but only in the sense that he wanted to do good for her. His father may be the most powerful figure in the Japanese military, but ironically his absence due to work had meant that Yuji was raised by far more compassionate and gentle hands. The sum result was a nickname he had been granted that dubbed him the "White Knight".

In was with this in mind that we witness next the collapsing of the aforementioned "Knight" and the immediate sound of terror and worry that came from his normally relaxed girlfriend. To the ground he fell and to his aid many police officers and students came. Neither realizing that his consciousness had just left him temporarily. And when compared to what fate had in store for them, he was getting off easy… for now.

END OF CHAPTER III

_A/N: This chapter is officially the most from scratch thing I've written so far. The only things here that were in the original game are two of the dialogue trees which I have both placed in very different contexts. The rest of this stuff I came up with all on my own (except of course for a certain cameo from another Megaten title.)_

_I know that I'm taking forever to get to the good stuff but rest assured I'm just as eager as you are; the problem is that once I've write in an idea for the story… I kind of have to see it through. Even if it takes a long time to finish with it._

_Expect more plot developments to come straight out of my ass as I strive to establish these characters well enough that their actions and motivations make sense in the end. I'll try not to change the important stuff (I care too much about the integrity of the game's original plot to do that.) but instead I'll use my creativity to flesh out the various gaps in the game in which the direction of the plot can be as flimsy as "some guy tells me to go somewhere."_

_Thank you to all of my reviewers so far, Twilight Kyu (I hope I'm meeting your expectations.), Have a Little Feith (I may be looking into your beta-reading services in the future.)_

_And most importantly TheDatenshi a veteran fanfic writer who has written lengthy, informative and uplifting positive reviews for all my chapters so far. It's truly an honor to be considered readable by the person who has written one of the biggest, most viewed fanfics in the Megami Tensei section._

_And thank you to anyone else out there who is reading my tribute to the original Shin Megami Tensei. _

**Kazuya: **Okay kiss ass, that's enough for now.

**Takeshi: **Some nice, talented writers throw you a bone and you slobber all over them like a puppy.

**Yuji: **It's kind of hard to respect a man who feels the need to write in a Raidou Kuzunoha cameo to get people to like them.

**Drake: **That's not why I did it! I like the idea of the various games sharing the same world (to a degree) so I figured I should address what he would be doing. After all, his are the only Shin Megami Tensei games that take place earlier on the timeline.

**Takeshi: **Riiiiiiiiiiiight, it's TOTALLY NOT fanservice or anything…

**Kazuya: **Well hold on now! That's not necessarily it, maybe he's just stalling time so he doesn't have to address the original plot until he thinks' he can do it justice.

**Yuji: **Which would make this chapter…?

**Takeshi: **Filler.

…**.**

**Drake: ***sighs* you're wrong, but there's no use in arguing. So until next time.


	5. Collective Purpose

**Chapter IV: Collective Purpose**

_A/N I do not own any of the characters or concepts regarding Shin Megami Tensei, this is a fan work and is non-profit._

Kazuya arrived at his destination only minutes after separating himself from Raidou. Ingoshira Park, this had been the scene of a gruesome murder just two days ago. This knowledge sat with him in the back of his mind and colored his decision to press onwards greatly. However he knew now that this park was not the only dangerous place in the city, rather, it was just one of many.

"You must be Kazuya." An old man with a large white beard and long hair grabbed Kazuya's attention. He wore a dark blue robe that was hung low on his chest and appeared later hastily put on. Kazuya quickly surmised that this was the man he was meant to see and that he was a bit of an oddball, just as he had expected.

"Yeah, that's me, sorry to disappoint." He adopted his trademark tone and pose for a partial rendition of his introductory phrase. The man however shook his head and moved to meet with the boy.

"Disappointed? Far from it, you have great potential within yourself." The man began to examine Kazuya very closely. Taking note of the boy's height, weight, manner of dress, his posture and various other physical features and mannerisms that made Kazuya feel someone uncomfortable in seeing examined.

"Yes, yes, I see. Yes, you are quite special indeed." The man announced with great pleasure moving away from Kazuya for a moment. The boy in question sighed a breath of relief in having his personal space back.

"I suppose I should thank you for the compliment but I'm afraid I must ask you to get on with it." Kazuya indicated his impatience for dealing with the eccentrics of an old man when so much was at stake. The man grumbled under his breath before conceding to the boy's wishes.

"Maybe you don't see it now, but it is quite possible that one day you will wield power beyond your wildest imagination." The old man started what Kazuya was anticipating to be a long winded speech. Seeing no point in interrupting, he simply nodded his head and waited for him to finish.

"Light and Darkness, Law and Chaos… The delicate balance that this world rides on is beginning to tip. While the forces of Law and Chaos that are in motion now are still weak there will come a time soon where they shall gain power and momentum, vying for supremacy over each other. However, it matters not on which side the weight falls. Either way, the result will be the same, a scale unbalanced. If you were in charge, which, if either, would you choose?" The man posed a deep philosophical question that had been quite possibly been the most prevalent theme throughout human history. Kazuya crossed his arms and lowered his head in thought. His eyes playing back scenes from his life alongside things he had heard of or read. The answer that he came to was tenuous at best, and naive and ignorant at worst.

"Neither, extremism in all forms cannot lead to justice. Only a sober mind and calm heart should hold power. One must never assume total conviction in anything. There is after all, always room for greater enlightenment." Kazuya gave his answer to an unimpressed audience of one. The man instead frowned and warned Kazuya carefully regarding his decision.

"Be mindful! No matter which path you take, there is no turning back once the decision has been made." Kazuya nodded his head and contemplated the man's words, temporarily forgetting that this was no time for philosophical musings.

"I see I will consider this question further…" Kazuya added with a bow, he did so as a means of showing his appreciation for the man's imparting of wisdom, or rather, the means of achieving it.

"Why don't you show me what you're capable of for the time being?" The old man asked with a slightly mischievous toothy grin spread across his bearded, wrinkled face. Kazuya was about to say something in response but just as he opened his mouth the life faded from his eyes and his body collapsed to the ground.

"Now what's going on?" A voice came from above Kazuya that he recognized as Yuji. He opened his eyes and got to his feet rubbing his head while trying to understand where he was. He appeared to be in some sort of cramped office building alongside Yuji. It was the type with winding corridors and small rooms. This design was something familiar to him. What wasn't however was the trippy wave that the whole room moved to. The whole experience seemed like some sort of trance or hallucination.

"I thought I was used to these dreams, now what?" Kazuya griped about the situation receiving an approving look from Yuji (who still appeared as a featureless outline). They were about to start moving when suddenly they heard a voice from behind them, one that they immediately recognized as Takeshi.

"Dreaming in the middle of the afternoon? Oy, now I'm really losing it!" Takeshi joined with the other two who had come to expect each other's presence in these dreams.

"Well that's three of us? Where's Yuka?" Kazuya asked figuring that the fourth member of their little "dream team" would join them once again. Takeshi shrugged and then sighed while Yuji thought about the question.

"I was just with her actually, assuming that she is the same Yuka in our dreams which…" Yuji mumbled to himself. Takeshi took notice and eagerly pressed for more information.

"What's this about you knowing Yuka? Please! Do go on…" Takeshi remarked in a way that made it very hard to tell if he was being serious. Yuji simply shook his hands.

"No, it's nothing, never mind…" Yuji tried to avoid the subject for fear of being on the receiving end of endless questions from at least one party involved. Takeshi moved closer and tried to intimidate him but his attempt was cut short by an order by their de facto leader.

"We don't have time for this, let's just go." Kazuya then began moving his legs and heading towards the stairs. The moment that Yuji and Takeshi decided to follow him they found that they somehow knew exactly what path to follow and their bodies seemed to follow it without their consent.

They turned a corner and moved up the stairs that followed and when they reached the next floor, they followed in suite and did so again and again until they had arrived at the 5th floor. They three didn't exchange any words during this walk, and in fact they didn't stop moving until they made another turn and entered a hallway where they were met with their first obstacle.

"Kazuya, no!" A flashing visage of Megami Akanaka appeared before the three boys her arms spread outward dramatically. Kazuya suddenly stopped moving causing the other two to also stop.

"Mom! Why are you here?" Kazuya shouted causing Yuji and Takeshi to look on in wonder as to why only his mother would appear, or do so at all.

"It's dangerous ahead! Don't go any of you go a step further!" She pleaded with the boys desperately. The three of them had never heard of any danger awaiting them at their destination. So it was very bizarre that all of them felt that not only was it necessary to face said danger, but that they were already aware of it.

"Ma'am, I'm sorry to disrespect your authority, but justice must be served regardless of the cost." Yuji announced in the most respectful, yet persuasive manner he could muster. Yuji even pulled out the sword that his father had given him and instructed him to carry with him everywhere a few days prior. Takeshi heard the conviction behind his words and decided to join in.

"Sometimes, a man's just gotta serve his best interests, even if that means getting into trouble. No hard feelings right." Takeshi pulled out his Beretta which he had stolen from a police officer that morning and gave off a cocky smirk. Yuji & Takeshi walked forward until they stood on the right and left of Kazuya respectively.

"…Sorry mom." For some reason Kazuya couldn't bring himself to make some big statement of principal to her, maybe it was because he like felt like a little boy around her. He would always put on the visage of a normal teenage boy when he was with his mother. It could have been that despite the distance between them, he just needed a parental figure in his life. Someone who would keep him grounded from letting the rest of the world dictate who he was. Megami saw the turmoil on her son's face and made a weak smile.

"…I know I can't stop you. But if you die, what will I do…?" Megami asked her son in honest concern for his safety and wellbeing. She wanted at that moment to pour her heart out and let her beloved boy know how she really felt about him before it was too late. But instead Kazuya lowered his gaze and walked through her like the ghostly image she was. She collapsed to the ground in tears as her image faded to nothingness.

The three boys entered a dark room where they were met with a rather bizarre sight. The room was rather small and rounded at the far end with steel grates and iron disks attached to the walls. In the center was a traditional Japanese doorframe with an oval shaped indent in the wall in the middle. The indent was marked with crimson red lines that outstretched from a central point like the legs of a spider. The object in the center was obstructed by a suspicious man conducting some sort of ceremony. The man was clad in a white lab coat that covered most of his back turned body. He appeared to be fiddling with some sort of machine. Behind him were two long haired people wearing shrine clothing and waving wooden sticks with three white ribbons tied at the top. They were both facing the man and sat crossed legged on the ground.

The three boys said nothing upon witnessing the scene and instead silently hoped that they would not be discovered, at least… not yet.

"My brethren! Come forth from the depths of the abyss!" The man in the center proclaimed in the same boisterous, melodramatic voice that they three had previously encountered.

"I cannot allow this." Kazuya growled in open hostility towards the man, who turned around, suddenly alerted to the young boys presence. The man was clad in the sort of uniform one would expect from a scientist, rather than an occultist summoner. But it was clear that his motivation lay with the latter.

"Eh! What are you doing here?" The summoner snarled at the boys. Yuji pulled out his sword and held it at his hip adopting a proper battle stance as he did.

"We are here to stop your heretical ceremony from taking place. Stand down, or face the consequences." Yuji made clear his stance clearly to the man, he was attempting to maintain a level of dignity in his aggression which was (according to his father) uncommon in people his age. Takeshi followed Yuji's dramatic demonstration with his own. Pointing his gun at the man he laughed in a mock sinister fashion that actually sounded rather unnerving coming from him. Kazuya however, seeing no reason to talk simply grabbed his sword and scowled.

"As you have seen our ceremony, I cannot allow you to leave this place alive!" The summoner then spoke out an incantation in an ancient language and suddenly the there was a flash of light and the three were sent flying out of the room into the hallway behind them.

By the time they had gotten up they stood face to face with a tall yellow demon clad in a ripped green cloak and a large striped collar than extended far behind his head. The figure was humanoid in shape with a bald head with only a circlet around it. The demon raised its left arm and unleashed a series of three bolts of flame that were directed at the three. The fires struck the boys with a speed that none could move turn from in time.

The demon remained silent as it waited for the three to return to their feet from the fire. Kazuya and Yuji both gripped their swords while Takeshi lowered his gun and raised his right hand before turning it into a fist.

"I've never heard of this demon before. We'll just have to concoct a plan as we go." Kazuya made the battle commands to which both Yuji and Takeshi complied. Takeshi, used to dealing with pain, was the first to react against his attacker. An action he delivered with a grin.

"I've already, got a plan! Fight fire with fire!" Takeshi yelled out as he winded his arm back and tossed a fireball at the enemy.

"AGI!" Takeshi screamed at his foe that recoiled at the impact. The flames burned for a moment at his cloak before dissipating. Shrugging off the pain the demon was just in time to be slashed by Kazuya who charged at the foe and cut him diagonally with his sword. Kazuya's slim muscles ached as he mustered his newly found strength and put it behind his sword. The demon blocked the strike with his arm causing him to incur only a small slash across his forearm. Yuji followed in turn and attacked the demon as well, his blade blocked with the opposing arm, suffering little damage. The demon, despite the three's attacks, seemed to still have plenty of strength. And it used that power when he readied its right arm and smashed his fist against Takeshi's body knocking him to the ground with a thundering blow.

"Shit." Takeshi cursed upon impact with the creature's fist. Blood streamed out from the boys mouth and a trail of it followed as he fell to unconscious to the floor. Kazuya and Yuji looked in terror at the devastation blow that had been dealt to their ally. At that moment they stared back at the demon with their confidence replaced with a growing sense of fear for their lives. Their eyes widened as the demon took advantage of their hesitation and prepared another fire attack. Their minds both faded to black however before the flames made impact.

The two of them were afraid that they had died at that moment and that they would be soon joining Takeshi in whatever afterlife followed.

"Indeed. It would seem that you are not ready as of yet." Kazuya heard the voice of the old man again as he regained his consciousness and found his body returned to the park, unscathed.

"That was… a dream…" Kazuya reasoned as his sense of reality sunk in. Only after he had recovered did he realize that many of the events that he had witnessed made no sense. In that dream he had some sort of purpose, an objective in mind that involved stopping that strange ceremony from taking place. However as of now, he couldn't understand why, outside of course, of his distrust of such things.

"If fate so decrees, you shall meet that one again. Ready yourself before you rush ahead." The man gave out his final piece of advice before disappearing without a trace. Kazuya blinked for a moment at the peculiarity of what had just occurred.

Alone, and without direction Kazuya decided to try to check out the park before he left for home. He had experienced so many strange things over the past few days and he had answers to very few of the many questions he had. Stroking his forehead as an indicator to calm down he pressed forward into the park.

While on his way however his path was blocked by two creatures that had suddenly warped into his path.

"The fuck?" Kazuya exclaimed to himself as he took a look at the creatures in front of him. They were both pixies, a type that he had read about frequently in European myths. Tiny women with bug like wings and somewhat strange fashion sense. Kazuya's first instinct was to attack the two demons but the moment his eyes fell on his right arm he saw his armcomp and remembered the demon summoning program.

"Perhaps… I could try." Kazuya opened up his computer and activated the program as swiftly as he could. The pixies turned to each other, both rather puzzled by the boy's behavior. They had expected him to either attack them or run. But instead he was using some machine on his arm. They weren't sure what it was capable of so they stayed on guard.

"Hey, I don't want to fight. So maybe we can talk this over?" Kazuya extended a gentle expression to the pixies who decided amongst themselves who would address him before doing so. One of the pixies flew closer to Kazuya and grinned.

"I'll have a little bit of fun with you, if that's what you want!" The pixie teased Kazuya in a vaguely flirtatious manner. Kazuya already felt his worries begin to surface so he tried to mask them with a warm smile (something that did not come naturally). The pixie seemed somewhat amused by the expression and giggled.

"You look weird!" The pixie pointed before turning to converse with her partner. Kazuya tried to hide his embarrassed face with his hand and thought about trying another tactic. He tried to remember what he had read about pixies in the past and how that could help his current situation. He decided to try flattering it as a means of starting a negotiation.

"You know, you're among the cutest looking demon I've ever met. I'm pretty lucky to have the chance to talk to you wouldn't you say?" Kazuya tried his best to appear charming, all the while every other facet of his personality mentally screamed at him to stop. The demon unfortunately saw through the deception and narrowed her eyes into a scowl.

"Liar!" The pixie spat before yelling a battle cry that told Kazuya that negotiations were over.

Kazuya drew out his sword and charged at the creature. Despite its small size, he was able to kill the first pixie with one slash which quickly moved into a second one which he sent driving down at the other pixie who was recoiled in horror before being killed. Kazuya panted loudly, trying to catch his breath while he sheathed his sword and watched as the two pixie corpses faded to nothing.

"So much for reasoning with the demons. I guess I need more practice." Kazuya snarked before continuing on his way through the park. He walked until he took notice of an old building that seemed to only recently be back in use. For as far as he could remember the old facility had been empty with boards covering it's every window. But now it seemed to be open to the public. Deciding to take a look inside he examined the building finding a vial of medical "ointment" in an almost empty first-aid kit. He took the vial and was about to leave until he was heard a voice come from behind him.

"To those who hurt or suffer we extend the hand of relief." A gentle male voice beckoned Kazuya to turn to face a man clad in an orange martial arts outfit.

"Hmm?" Kazuya looked at the man who looked at him for a moment before bowing.

"Sorry, I thought that you were a patient. There has been a great rise in danger in the community recently." The man explained prompting Kazuya to dig for details.

"What do you mean? Aren't you from some kind of dojo?" Kazuya asked honestly wondering how far this man's knowledge went. The figure nodded and beckoned Kazuya into his dojo, something to which he nodded his head and agreed to.

"We are dojo dedicated to the philosophy of balance in all things. We practice martial arts as means of understanding ourselves, not to inflict harm. We also have made it our responsibility to aid anyone who comes to us, regardless of their character or intention." The man outlined his views while sitting on his knees before interestingly decorated shrine.

"So whether their good or bad, is irrelevant to you? You just want to help people?" Kazuya asked the man who again nodded in return.

"Our place is to withhold judgment from those in need. To put aside questions of morality or philosophy for the sake of assisting in someone's suffering." The man reiterated a strong sense of pride in his words.

"This is the way of Kaifuku, and I hope we may be of assistance to you if ever you need it." The man remarked towards Kazuya who felt a sense of great appreciation for the sentiment. Kazuya had never felt much attachment to ancient traditions and folkways as anything more pieces of human culture and history. Yet he felt a sense of respect for this man, and perhaps even this philosophy despite its perhaps overtly simple view on life. The simple act of aid without judgment was a rarity in his world. And its significance would only grow in the future.

"I hope so as well." Kazuya bid farewell to the man and walked off on his way, he was hoping to head home and send a message to Steven regarding the demons. He had been the one who warned him about their coming and sent him the program. Perhaps there were other people as well who had the program at their disposal. He theorized that if he could just make contact with those others that he could start an army that would eliminate the demon threat before things got any worse.

The walk home was not completely without incident. Again he was met with encounters by various demons. Most of which he was forced to kill with his sword but when he met with another pair of pixies he tried negotiations again. Surprisingly he was able to convince them to join him for the fee of some ¥ and a compliment or two. He checked his armcomp and noticed that it now registered a Pixie as being under his control. The whole experience gave him a newfound confidence that he could either kill, or reason with whatever came at him.

This would all come to an end however when he was just about to reach his home and was confronted by the military.

"Hey you! Hold it! You're Kazuya!" A soldier yelled as soon as Kazuya walked by. He took off his headphones and turned to the blue clad man who was standing along with two other soldiers with riot shields.

"Yeah, yeah, sorry to disappoint." Kazuya muttered off his catchphrase and turned to move past them. He didn't know of any reason why the military would have any interest in him so he had no means of anticipating their next course of action. The men surrounded him and before he knew what was happening, accused him.

"You're under arrest for murder! We found your bloody fingerprints at the scene!" The head officer yelled at Kazuya attempting to scare the boy into a confession. Kazuya however had played this game before with people and after facing various demons, was not about to be scared by a human. Maintaining a cold disposition Kazuya glared at the man and held his stance.

"Murder? Is that really the charge you want to get me on? I mean I've got a huge list of felonies to choose from, including funneling national funds to my bank account, desecrating national artifacts, Leaking government secrets to the Americans, rape, oh you wouldn't believe the rape!" Kazuya went on a sarcastic tirade that only served to make the officer angrier and redder in the face. As a means of shutting the kid up the man punched Kazuya in the stomach and seethed at him.

"You sick little puppy, tearing out that guy's throat like that! Restrain and handcuff him, boys!" The soldiers did as ordered and before Kazuya could attempt resisting, had his body knocked to unconsciousness. The soldiers picked up his unconscious body and went on their way.

"Get in there!" Kazuya awoke only to be thrown into a large grey jail cell. He stroked his head for the umpteenth time that day wondering how he was able keep waking up after going unconscious so many times.

"Under martial law, the first casualty is justice." Kazuya muttered bitterly as he took note of his surroundings. He noticed that the soldiers have neglected to confiscate either his sword or his armcomp. This grave oversight on their judgment made Kazuya question the legitimacy of their authority in regards to the law. The whole incident seemed to have gone by far too quickly. No measure of respect for his rights as a Japanese citizen, or even as minor. No trial, no judgment and no measure chance to explain himself. It reeked of malevolent intent the more he thought about it.

Kazuya turned his back the moment he heard sobbing come from behind him. He turned to look at his cellmate. He was a teenager not much older than he was. He had long brown hair and wore a red jacket with matching shoes and tight faded blue jeans. He was crouched over crying, a position that seemed to emanate a desire to be talked to.

"You alright?" Kazuya asked the teenager who turned to face him with tears still forming in his eyes.

"…They got you too…?" The teen asked with a sullen laugh that seemed to only convey misery rather than laughter. Kazuya sighed despondently in acknowledgement and sat down with him.

"Yeah, on flimsy evidence for a crime I didn't commit. Such is life right?" Kazuya asked the other boy who nodded in agreement before lowering his hands from his face as if in some sort of realization. The boy stared at Kazuya for a moment and then fell back gently in shock.

"Wait a minute…! You're…" The boy slowly got to his feet and regained some measure of composure and dignity as he did.

"I'm….?" Kazuya followed the boy's train of logic hoping soon to arrive at whatever the destination that this guy was alluding to. The teenager in red smiled.

"You're Kazuya aren't you!" The teen exclaimed in with great confidence to a confused other party. Kazuya simply shrugged his shoulders.

"That would be me, Kazuya, Kazuya Akanaka, sorry to disappoint." He repeated his into to this other boy whose voice was only now starting to sound somewhat similar. The teen rushed over to Kazuya and grabbed his shoulders, brimming with excitement.

"That wasn't just a dream then! I'm Yuji Tokumura! Do you remember me?" Yuji reintroduced himself to a mind blown Kazuya. He looked over at the teenage boy before him and tried to make the connection to the featureless person he had met in his dreams. The more he reviewed his memories the more he realized the two shared many similarities, their voice, mannerisms (though he didn't remember Yuji being this excitable) and other things that confirmed his suspicions.

"Yes, I remember you Yuji, but what are you doing here? You always seemed the law abiding type." Kazuya drew attention to that particular trait of Yuji's in an effort to see if the two really had interacted with one another in the same way that he had remembered. Yuji sighed woefully and looked Kazuya in the eyes.

"Kazuya, you won't believe what happened to me. My girlfriend just sort of disappeared. While I was looking for her I was attacked by demons." Yuji began his story his powerful emotions showing a side of Yuji that Kazuya found very unfamiliar. This level of angst and intensity from the normally composed gentleman spoke volumes about what he must have endured.

"Alright, I follow you so far…" Kazuya added with a nod, indicating for him to go on.

"But when I killed them, the police arrested me!" Yuji yelled out in anguish his emotions almost seeming overbearing to Kazuya. Kazuya analyzed Yuji's last words and reflected on his own experiences.

"But how did they find the corpses? Demons disappear when you kill them right?" Kazuya asked exposing what he saw as a flaw in Yuji's story. He didn't believe that he was lying, that would be very uncharacteristic of him. But he did consider that perhaps Yuji was not clear on the details. In response to this accusation Yuji shook his head.

"Like I said, WHEN I killed them, I was arrested. To untrained human eyes, demons appear as humans right? Well they SAW me kill them, which to them looked like cold blooded murder. They arrested me so quickly they didn't even look to see the corpses fade away." Yuji explained his dilemma and then grabbed his Kazuya's right hand and placed it in with both of his.

"I need to find her… I'm so worried about her! So will you help me look for her?" Yuji pleaded to Kazuya even going as far to use puppy eyes on him. Kazuya tried to look away but found him sucked into the gaze of a lovelorn friend in need. Realizing he needed Yuji's help as well he crossed his arms and sighed.

"Alright, I'll help find her. I owe you that at least…" Kazuya agreed to assist him with a level of irritation and reluctance that he felt best sent the message that he wasn't to be seen as a particularly noble soul. It might cause people to get the message that he wanted friends or something. That was an outcome he wanted to avoid. Despite these considerations Yuji was overjoyed at the sound of Kazuya's acceptance

"Really! Thank you!" Yuji cheered and then proceeded to glomp Kazuya almost to the ground. Kazuya however, placed his arms behind him to take most of the impact and thus save him from a possible concussion.

"You're welcome okay! Please no more touching!" Kazuya screeched out along with a desperate attempt to push Yuji off of him. Yuji complied and brushed himself off and silently mouthed and apology.

"Okay, some details about your girlfriend please…?" Kazuya began his extraction of information about this "girlfriend" of Yuji's.

"My girlfriend's name is Yuka." Yuji began only to be quickly interrupted by Kazuya who already was groaning inwardly regarding the direction things were turning.

"Yuka? Yuka Takeuchi? The girl who lives next door to me?" Kazuya asked in a slightly more angry tone than he could possibly rationalize. Yuji seemed off put by this sudden anger and simply raised his hands in innocence to whatever Kazuya was getting at.

"Eh? You live next door to her? Wow, that's a coincidence." Yuji started to probe his memories with Yuka for any mention of Kazuya or anyone matching his description. Kazuya meanwhile, still angry for some reason continued to explain his connection to Yuka.

"Yeah, actually we were childhood friends, we go way back." Kazuya "informed" Yuji who now was starting to put some of the pieces together in his mind. He wasn't entirely sure but he figured that if he was correct, that he should change the subject quickly, before they start killing each other.

"Yeah… anyhow, let's try and think of a way to bust out of here." Yuji suggested with optimism that suddenly made Kazuya's anger feel awkward and out of place. Thoroughly disarmed Kazuya nodded in agreement.

"Right, let's start devising a pla-" Kazuya was about to speak when suddenly he heard noises from the room to the right. The two of them exchanged silent cues to go check it out with the end result being that Kazuya was told to investigate. Kazuya slowly approached the cell's bars and was met with the sight of a lab coat clad man with a medical mask and cap on his face. The man looked to be half crazed with a look in his eyes that seemed perversely excited to be meeting with the two young men.

"Time for your surgery! Come on out!" The man gleefully cheered as he opened the bars with a single swift movement of his hand. Kazuya looked over at the man and Yuji nodded.

"NOW!" Kazuya shouted as Yuji charged at the man knocking him to the ground with a bulrush. The man collapsed to the floor blood forming in his mouth. Kazuya drew his sword and without a moment's hesitation stabbed the body on the ground to confirm his death. Yuji checked the body for any items they could use and found some ammo on his person. Yuji pulled out a Beretta from his jacket and loaded the weapon.

"Come on, now's our chance! Let's go!" Yuji motioned over to Kazuya who complied and followed him out the cell and into the rest of the building.

"This….isn't a prison…" Yuji noticed as he examined the layout and design of the building. It had none of the traits he had come to expect from a prison in his experience. Kazuya nodded and remembered what the man had last said to him alongside the rumor from the coffee shop.

"You're right, this is a hospital. And I'd be willing to bet we weren't prisoners, but lab rats." Kazuya grimly admitted to what the two of them had already begun to suspect. This information was actually somewhat comforting to Yuji who was relieved to hear that he had not been arrested by any legitimate authority. He knew that without his prior suspicions about his capture, he may not have even attempted escape that was however, until he remembered Yuka, at which point he was reminded that he would do anything to find her again.

The two carefully searched the hospital for an exit but instead chanced upon some more jail cells. Despite knowing that they could not free them (the lock was encoded with such a complex lock that even Kazuya could not even attempt to crack it.) They felt that they might be able to gain some information from the inmates. The first one they checked also happened to be the most important one. For inside it was a wheelchair bound foreign man in a red suit with short grey hair and glasses. While the presence of said person meant nothing to Yuji, Kazuya looked in awe of his discovery. Kazuya booted up the Demon Summoning program and check the map screen as to see if he was seeing things right.

"I see you've got that computer program that I wrote. Has it been useful for you?" The wheel-chair bound man took note of the computer attached to Kazuya's arm and especially the program he was using.

"S-Steven? Y-y-you're in Japan…. And captured? W-why?" Kazuya stuttered out in awe of this man even going as far as to bow very low in respect to the man who had been his online friend and idol for many months. Yuji saw the great level of respect that was being afforded to this man and decided to bow in kind, he had heard vaguely of a wheel-chair bound man foreign man before with a similar name. It wasn't much but it was enough. Steven smiled in appreciation and shook his head gently.

"A long time ago, I was working on a teleportation device. A network of Terminal Systems that would allow the user to instantly transport him or herself from terminal to terminal." Yuji was the first to respond to react to the news with an enthusiastic look in his eyes.

"Teleportation? That's incredible! I had no idea modern science could do that!" Yuji looked over to Kazuya who had suddenly taken on a grimmer demeanor. He seemed downcast at the mere mention of the technology. Yuji gave him a concerned look and a friendly pat on the shoulder which Kazuya brushed off.

"I can… that's the project that my father left me and my mom for. You were both sent to America because that's where the funding came from right?" Steven seemed to take the information in with little surprise.

"I knew that you were Saito's son I'm afraid. He said that he was very sorry to have left you and you're mother, but that the possibilities for a scientific breakthrough were too great to be ignored. You have to understand that the project was top secret and that he couldn't say anything about it more than he had already told you." Steven tried to reassure Kazuya who was only slightly uplifted by this information.

"I know my father was making the best of his abilities. It had nothing to do with me or my mother. It would have been a tragedy to let his talent go to waste." Kazuya forced a calm expression that betrayed his inner conflict. He knew that he had no reasonable grounds to be so angry at his family. He wasn't sure if he was angry at his dad or himself for being so childish.

"Kazuya…" Yuji quietly uttered not aware of this level of nuance to his personality. In truth his issues with his father was somewhat reminiscent of his own, if only in their complexity, not their content. Steven saw that he was not going to be able to sort this matter out now so he decided to move on.

"Anyway, but in the middle of one of my experiments, I accidently opened a portal to the Abyss and summoned a demon." This new piece of the story just stopped Kazuya in the middle of his daddy issue inflicted daze.

"Wait… you ACCIDENTLY opened a portal to the Abyss? Just like that? It just so HAPPENED to unleash terrors on a scale of which humanity had never seen? And you say this in the same manner you would talk about how you forgot something at the store and went to go back only to find they were fresh out?" Kazuya snapped at the elder man who could only react with an uncomfortable guilt and a heartfelt apology.

"If it's any consolation… the barrier between the worlds was paper thin, and it turned out that it had been an intentional result on part of some special interest groups of questionable intentions." Steven tried to dissuade the blame for his own sake more so than for Kazuya's. In truth he still blamed himself for the incident despite evidence that clearly showed him to be nothing but a pawn in some greater scheme. He felt that a man of his intelligence shouldn't have allowed himself to be manipulated like that. Kazuya, despite not entirely sure of Steven's innocence decided to move past the point for the sake of brevity.

"Alright, please continue." Steven nodded and reaffirmed a serious look on his face.

"The demon seemed like it was trying to communicate with me, but I couldn't understand it, and it eventually became hostile and attacked me. I managed to defeat it but not without sustaining terrible wounds first." Steven looked down at his crippled body with a frown. The boys too examined him as an example of what the demons could possibly do to them if they weren't careful.

"Hence the chair…" Yuji whispered while contemplating the situation in regards to what he could see happen to his own father.

"The experience motivated me to develop a computer program that would allow people to speak with and befriend demons, making them into minions. Thus I wrote the Demon Summoning Program." Kazuya took another look at his armcomp with a renewed sense of awe when he thought over just what kind of power he held in his hands.

"After learning that the terminals were connected with the Abyss, a man named Gotou began to summon and attempt to control them." Yuji's interest grew exponentially the moment that he heard his father mentioned. While he didn't say anything now, he knew that his position as Gotou's only son would come back to haunt him.

"Knowing that the demons would be coming in large numbers, I sent my Demon Summoning Program to as many people as I could. By increasing the number of people who have the ability to control demons, I was hoping to balance things out and keep any potential demonic revolts from getting totally out of control. Unfortunately, the program itself is harder to master than I had hoped and very few people were able to become full-fledged summoners." Kazuya nodded in agreement knowing firsthand how hard the program could be to use effectively.

"Not to mention the limited level of portable devices capable of using said program. It's only thanks to my dad's armcomp I have it with me now." Kazuya pointed out causing Steven to feel even more foolish than before.

"That is very true, I doubt even the most top of the line consumer laptops would be able to run my program. You're very lucky Kazuya, that your father leaked you the prototype of the device I was planning on releasing specifically to use my Demon Summoning Program." Steven motioned the Kazuya's armcomp recognizing the design as exactly the type that Saito had brought to Steven for the test stages of his program. He felt that there was a great cosmic irony in his son being the one of the very few who would wield one.

"Heh… I guess I do owe my old man more credit that I thought huh? All this time I thought it was just a fancy bribe to keep me from asking about what he was doing. When really he wanted to help protect me and my mom from danger." Kazuya thought back to when he had first opened the package in the mail and looked upon the device. Even then he knew that it was something special, he was just too proud to admit it.

"Very well. I shall give you this program to assist you. It is designed to capture and analyze data. It will scan and analyze any demons you should meet, and record their data into your computer's memory so that you can refer to it whenever you need to." Kazuya checked his armcomp and noticed the new file that was being sent to him from the laptop attached to Steven's chair. He opened the file and installed the program which served as a partner function to his Demon Summoning Program. Kazuya smiled and reached through the bars to shake Steven's hand.

"Thank you Steven, and if you ever see him again, tell my dad thanks as well." Steven shook Kazuya's hand back, a great deal of respect for the boy growing in his mind.

"If there is anything I can do to help you, please come back here and see me." Steven waved to send them off. They were about to go but then Yuji moved closer and opened his mouth to something that had been bugging him.

"Uh, Mr. Steven sir? Before we go, I have to ask, why are you in a Japanese hospital as a prisoner?" Yuji's posing of the question caused Kazuya to turn back around as well.

"Actually, Yuji's right. You never did answer that question for us did you?" Kazuya acknowledged only now remembering how Steven had avoided the matter entirely. Steven grew rather meek at the posing of the question.

"Well, when I heard that Gotou had returned to Japan after the implementation of the terminals was complete, I followed him in an attempt to try and reason with him. However he instead chose to arrest me and put me here on the basis of something or other. In any case that's your answer." Steven finally admitted satisfying the curiosity of both teens.

"Alright, then I guess we better be on our way." Yuji turned to Kazuya who agreed. The two of them left Steven with a sense of satisfaction in knowing that there was some way he could help fix what he had started. In fact when he pondered that idea further he realized that it would be necessary for the two of them to reach the head office. Turning his attention to his laptop he began to try and crack the lock on the door on the top floor.

END OF CHAPTER IV

_A/N: Thank you everyone once more for putting up with my slow storytelling process. I made this chapter especially long with hopes of getting through a lot of the exposition and establishing scenes so we can get to the meat of the series. This chapter sticks fairly close to the original game but with of course my many additions made to focus the narrative._

_One of the big troubles I've been having with this game is the inconsistent use of dialogue throughout. While characters dialogues when simply talking with one another is extremely sparse, there are points where a new character will suddenly appear, dump tons of exposition on you, then leave. I try to break those scenes up with some character interjections and reaction shots but often there's not a lot I can do. Either way I try to pepper the story with more character interactions and funny conversations just so those scenes where the characters do talk, it sounds less wooden and disjointed. _

_At any rate, I also incorporated some more things from within the game mechanics, such as a transcription of a conversation I had with a pixie. They don't really have much to do with the overall story but they are a central part of the game so to any reviewers out there, tell me what you think. Should I add in more demon conversations? What would be a good number per chapter? _

_I'm also struggling to try and get a hold of some of the great atmosphere the game creates while playing it. It will just be something more for me to improve on. _

**Kazuya: **You've got a lot more to work on than just that Drake…

**Yuji: **Agreed, oh! And nice job connecting in my game dialogue with your own, I totally didn't come off as some sort of schitzo between scenes.

**Kazuya: **That's a good point! What's the deal with me being sad one second, then happy the other? I've heard of mood swings but seriously? Wasn't I supposed to be the stoic one?

**Yuji: **Not to mention the unnecessary additions to the plot that make no sense like Gotou being my father for example? Why?

**Kazuya: **Or my father working with Steven, he didn't exist in the original! Why do you insist on making up so many goddamn plot points?

**Yuji: **Oh and your explanation for why Steven was captured. Weak…

**Drake: **Ugh…. I'm not going to let you guys get to me. I try alright? I fucking try! This game's plot may be incredible but damn if it doesn't not translate well into a novel format. At least I'm only adding things rather than removing them.

**Kazuya: **Actually….

**Drake: **Fuck off!


	6. Mindless I

**Chapter V: Mindless "I"**

_A/N I do not own any of the characters or concepts regarding Shin Megami Tensei, this is a fan work and is non-profit._

Kazuya and Yuji headed straight to the second floor of the hospital and battled their way through the halls. Throughout the building there were scores of men in white coats who would suddenly turn into various types of demons such as gaki, pixies, weredogs, ghosts, knockers (which were gnome like creatures.) and the like. The two boys found themselves suprisingly rather apt in combat despite their lack of actual fighting training or experience. Neither knew exactly why they were able to fight and perceive the demons for what they were. But they knew that it was connected to the dream that they shared.

The two reached the top of the stairs and stopped to catch their breath. After dealing with roaming gangs of demons on the floor below they found themselves exhausted physically and mentally.

"One moment, I'm ready to take on the world, the next…" Yuji sighed while placing his right hand on his left arm.

"Dia." He gently mouthed, the wound on his arm slowly healed itself, but not without a seething feeling that accompanied the sensation of your body repairing itself faster than it naturally should be able to. Kazuya looked over at Yuji with a tinge of jealousy in his ability to use magic.

"I have to ask. When did you realize that you had that kind of power?"

Yuji shrugged his shoulders and placed her arms around his back cracking his neck.

"I was the morning after I met you in that dream for the first time. I was attacked by a demon while walking to Yuka's house. It ran before I could really do anything but when I clenched my wound and tried to numb the pain, I realized that the pain had faded and I was fine." Yuji reminisced briefly back on that moment while Kazuya watched the expression on Yuji's face change. He could see his attitude brighten simply by thinking back to his moments with Yuka.

"You really like her… don't you?" Kazuya asked already knowing the answer.

"…Yeah." Yuji replied without missing a beat. The more Kazuya thought about it, the more he realized that he had no right to be jealous. Even if his feelings for her didn't fade immediately, he was convinced that Yuji was a better man for her.

Their moment however didn't last long, combat quickly resumed for the two when they were spotted by a team of weredogs.

"Unruly humans… surround and devour them!" The lead demon snarled, ordering his men to circle the boys. There was a moment of silence, where no one dared to move. Kazuya and Yuji both analyzed their situation and what chance they had to win. Kazuya drew his sword from his back and held it at his waist, while Yuji pulled out his gun and aimed at the head weredog. The tension was thick with anticipation for blood to be spilt, and the one to first act was Yuji who fired at the demon leader.

"Boss!" The minion closest to the leader cried. With incredible speed the other demon jumped in front of the bullet and took the shot in his hand. Yuji didn't even stop to take in the change of circumstance and instead kept firing.

"AUGH!" The demon screamed as its bullet ridden body collapsed to the ground and faded to nothing. The head demon watched in awe of his subordinates sacrifice and growled in anger.

"Attack! Let our brother's death be avenged!" The pack leader howled as the dogs attack the two boys.

"Shit." Kazuya cursed as he brought his sword in a slice against a weredog. His blade clashed against the demon's mace in a battle of endurance which Kazuya broke by shifting his strength and overpowering the demon.

"Damn human!" The weredog yelled as he saw his mace fall from his hands. Bearing his fangs and claws he charged at Kazuya in rage only to meet the end of the boy's sword at his chest. Kazuya held his position and tensed his arms to keep up the strength needed to stab through the demon's flesh. He turned his head to his right seeing a weredog fall to the ground from a series of gunfire courestly of Yuji. He smiled and nodded in Yuji's direction as he forced his sword from the demon's body and turned to face the weredogs leader. Yuji was currently free to assist so he decided to move in for an attack.

Kazuya swung his katana at the weredog leader who grabbed the blade with one hand and bashed the sword with his mace. The sword held intact luckily but Kazuya lost his grip and stumbled back. Kazuya grit his teeth and jumped to the left, getting out of the way so Yuji could fire a bullet right through the demon's skull. The demon fell to the ground its body dissipating before it could even bleed onto the floor. Kazuya recovered his sword and turned around to face Yuji, only to see another weredog attacking him.

Yuji tried reached pulled the trigger on his gun but the clip was empty. With his sword still sheathed he was unable to get it free. He dodged the swings of the demon's mace narrowly but couldn't find an opening to attack. His ally in danger and looked to himself for a solution. He was about to charge with his sword, but he then heard another weredog approaching from behind. He sighed and opened his armcomp.

"Yuji and I need some assistance here." He reasoned while he furiously accessed the demon summoning program. After inputting some code in rapid fire succession Kazuya closes the comp's lid and steps away. A small blue circle forms on the floor which becomes filled with intricate symbols and emits a flash of light before summoning a pixie in its position.

"Use zionga on that demon and then heal Yuji. Understand." Kazuya ordered while pointing at the weredog fighting Yuji. The pixie giggled in response.

"Of course, right away sir." The pixie complied in her typical, playful manner. Kazuya frowned and twitched his eye however at her attitude. As far as he was concerned, dealing with a hospital full of demons was no laughing matter and Kazuya and Yuji weren't in the best shape right now.

"Time to die! Human!" The weredog roared as it bashed Yuji's body at its left side. As Yuji fell to his right the demon reared its fangs and prepared to tear at Yuji's body. The boy closed his eyes and frantically searched for his sword while desperately trying to ignore the pain. The second passed for him in agony until their fight was interrupted by a third party.

"ZIONGA!" Cried the pixie as a bolt of lightning struck the weredog stunning it in place. Yuji opened his eyes to see the demon standing reaching over him, frozen in place. Yuji didn't stop to question the situation and instead drew his sword and stabbed the demon in the chest screaming out in the process.

Kazuya looked over at Yuji and nodded in pride as he finished messing with his armcomp. While Yuji was fighting one of the weredog's Kazuya managed to get the third one to join him simply by summoning Pixie, which identified Kazuya as a demon summoner.

"Thank you Pixie. You saved my life." Yuji expressed his gratitude with a polite bow to the summoned demon. Pixie's cheeks reddened slightly at the boy's remark and proceeded to heal him of his injuries.

"That's the last of them in our immediate range." Kazuya noted while studying the floor plan as mapped on his armcomp.

"Right, so let's consider where we are going before moving on." Yuji suggested while sheathing his sword and proceeding to load his gun. Kazuya nodded and sent Pixie back to the comp with a quick statement of thanks prior to doing so. They looked at each other and waited for the other to propose an plan when a soaring cry broke the silence.

"Hey! HEEEEEEEY!" An anguished male voice came from the distance.

"Sounds like more prisoners."

"Maybe it's Takeshi?"

"Can't tell yet but maybe, let's check it out!"

"Alright." With that exchange the two ran down the hallway. The two arrived at the source and were greeted with the sight of yet another prisoner, a casually dressed teenage boy who seemed to be in a state of distress. Clutching the bars of the cell like a caged animal the boy stared at the boy's tears streaming down his face.

"Help me! I don't want to be operated on and altered like some sort of mad scientists' lab rat!" The boy pleaded to Kazuya in particular who worked diligently to avoid any sort of expression from appearing on his face. This grand display of emotion forced Kazuya to activate the mental wall that he held to avoid himself from getting attached.

"I, I see." Kazuya muttered in a low voice while turning his head. He wasn't against helping others, as he had displayed earlier, but in each of those occasions it was done of his own volition without being asked. The moment he was expected to do something, the cards changed hands and his attitude shifted.

"Wait! So are you going to help? Answer me!" The man asked in a shaky voice that almost sounded like it was about to burst into anger. Kazuya stepped backwards and turned his attention to his armcomp. Yuji sighed at the sight of Kazuya ignoring the desperate figure before them and stepped forward and shot the man a comforting grin.

"I won't make any empty promises, but rest assured Kazuya and I will do our best to help you. So in return could we ask you something?" Yuji reasoned extending his hand through the bars to shake the other man's hand. The man smiled and looked up at Yuji with wide eyes , beaming all the while.

"S-sure man! A-anything!" The man agreed.

"Would you happen to know anyone by the name of Takeshi Kuromori by chance?" Yuji inquired having already ruled out the chance that this pathetic, sobbing individual would be the cool and cocky Takeshi he knew from his dreams. The man slumped back and shook his head.

"S-sorry, never heard of him." The man admitted remorsefully.

"Alright, we'll, keep your spirits up." Yuji bid farewell to the man who having lost his previous energy now seemed to just be lying curled up in the fetal position on the ground. The two left the cell and returned to the hallway.

"I haven't seen anything that would indicate that Takeshi or the other Yuka is here. Do you suppose we should even bother looking for them?" Yuji asked Kazuya who shook his head in response.

"Even if they are here, we don't have the luxury of time on our side. If their anything like us then they will be able to handle themselves in here. Rest assured, escape should be our top priority. And on that note I have a message to deliver." Kazuya gave his two cents and proceeded to open his armcomp and opened an e-mail he had received from Steven while Yuji was talking with the man in the cell.

_**DDS-NET**_

_**Accessing…**_

_**Date: 1994 – 10 – 17**_

_**Name: Steven**_

_**To: |47_(_)¥**_

_**Go to the director's office on the second floor. I've unlocked the door for you. There should be another switch inside. If you hit it, it should open the gate outside so you can get out of here.**_

Kazuya read out the message aloud and saw the expression on Yuji's face turn from grim to excited, to a mix of both. Kazuya understood the conflict that Yuji must have felt in his head, after all they had no idea what to expect from this director.

"I guess there's no other way?"

"None, that Steven indicated to me anyway."

"Right, so I guess we have no choice. Justice must be served so this twisted man must either see the error of his ways or fall before my blade!" Yuji drew his sword and held it out like a samurai which left Kazuya with a rather amusing image. He could just imagine that if this was an anime that Yuji would be sparkling like a bishonen and his little speech would be emphasized with dramatic speed-lines and accompanied by some dramatic theme song. Not only that, it was clear to Kazuya that his whole heroic image here was a front for his true motivation which was purely to escape from this prison by any means necessary.

"Of course they will." Kazuya snarked as he headed down the hallway with Yuji trailing behind him. The two continued through the hospitals second floor battling the occasional demon along their way. The whole affair struck them both as a little…. Odd. Despite their constant massacring of demon henchmen within the facility and their lack of stealth in their movements, there was no sign of great disturbance from within. No alarms were sounding; there was no sense of panic or organization knowing that some prisoners had broken free. Even their escape from prison seemed a little too easy. With that in mind Kazuya stopped their approach just in front of the door to the director's room.

"Hold on, we should be prepared for anything." Kazuya held his arm in front of Yuji who nodded and stopped to load his gun. Kazuya on the other hand opened his armcomp and accessed his demon summoning program. His fingers tapped across the keypad in with great efficiency as he inputted the parameters and data necessary for a successful summoning. And then with a loud clasping of the armcomp he turned around and watched as three beams of light appeared and faded revealing a pixie, a knocker and a weredog who took a moment to take in the scenary.

"Alright! Let's kick some ass!" The weredog shouted with a rising of his mace.

"So you need my help? Tee-hee! Well alright." Teased the pixie who hovered over to Kazuya's side.

"Ready to help!" The knocker cheered as it ran to join with the rest.

Kazuya's eye twitched in frustration at the light-hearted antics of his demon comrades. It was one thing to have to deal with humans, who were annoying in of themselves, but demons with human-like personalities? That, he predicted would prove to be even more irksome. Yuji on the other hand looked at the demons feeling rather endeared by their quirks. He smiled briefly before reminding himself of the grave nature of their endeavor.

"Right… let's go." Kazuya sternly ordered no hint of amusement left on his face. The others nodded and they entered the director's room preparing for the worst.

What they found inside was a surgery room with a friendly enough man in a lab coat standing next to a white medical table with a large lamp like apparatus looming over it. Behind him were some diagrams on human anatomy on each corner. The bright light from the ceiling and the sterilized, clean white polish to everything around seemed to give off an impression that was no different from any other hospital. And indeed the smiling, grey-haired, lab coat clad doctor seemed all too happy to play along.

"Oh? What are you doing here? Have you had your restructural surgery yet?" The director asked in utter indifference to the piercing scowl that Kazuya wore on his face, or the demons he had at his side. The question sent a chill down the spines of both boys who could only image the utter horrors that had been committed in this seemingly spotless hospital room. How many people had their bodies cut, ripped, torn and sliced apart on that table in front of them? How many corpses had been dropped to the floor, their organs torn from inside their bodies only to be used in some sick experiment? The fact that the question had even been asked caused Kazuya to feel a great rage within him brewing.

"No, I haven't" He responded in a low, menacing tone that was thick with disgust and hate. That wasn't to mean that he wasn't scared, to be sure he was. But he was determined to escape alive, no matter what he had to face, he had confidence in his abilities as a demon summoner and fighter. He had no choice but to win, he couldn't die without knowing that the few people still precious to him were okay or not.

The doctor's grin slowly faded and his face became marked by a disappointed frown. His eyes fell to the ground and for some reason they seemed to become covered with a shadow that was not indicated by any of the lighting.

"Oh, I see. Then that means that you're still evil humans who won't listen to my commands yet." The man's posture remained perfectly still all the while carrying the ominous feeling of a butcher dressed in a doctor's clothes. Kazuya and Yuji drew their swords while the man stared blankly at the two.

"Yet? I never intend to follow your wicked designs!" Yuji chimed in to the vocal disapproval of the director who began to pace towards them his footsteps heard loudly throughout the room.

"Very well then, if you refuse to play along, I'll have to alter your bodies myself until you're nothing but mindless drones that follow my every whim!" The doctor laughed as a beam of light filled the room and when it passed in the center stood a humanoid lion with a snake for a tail riding a powerful horse. In his right hand he held a small staff with two vipers interwoven with it. Both Kazuya and Yuji found their confidence shaken by this fearsome creature. Backing away Kazuya reached his hand for the door only to realize it was now locked from the outside.

"W-what is that?" Yuji asked without taking his eyes off the creature. Kazuya's eyes too remained fixed to the demon and throat became dry, making it hard to speak.

"Orias, the 59th spirit of the Goetia, he can turn men into anything and grant titles and the like so…" Kazuya's explanation was cut off by the violent swing of his staff which knocked Kazuya against the wall.

Kazuya groaned in pain as his body recovered from the violent strike. He rose to his feet only to watch Yuji being struck by some sort of spell that left him in a daze, unable to concentrate.

"Pathetic." Orias laughed as he swung his staff again at the knocker and weredog who charged at him. His horse charged at the weredog and stomped on the demon's body causing the demon to scream out in anguish before dissipating. The battle had just begun and already things looked bleak for the Kazuya and Yuji. Yuji stumbled around in a daze while Kazuya slowly got back on his feet and prepared to fight. The knocker fled into a corner while the pixie flew over to Kazuya's side to heal him.

"Thanks." Kazuya uttered quickly to the pixie who nodded in appreciation. He watched Orias sit upon his steed with a smug sneer covering his face. Kazuya's grit his teeth in rage and charged at the demon. Driving whatever strength he had with him, Kazuya's charge was met however with a quick ramming from Orias's horse. Kazuya's chest was met with a terrible smash than would have sent him to the ground had he not forced whatever strength he had to his arms so he could brace the pain and take a swipe at the demon.

With a loud clash, his sword was blocked by Orias's staff. Kazuya's strength was already failing him but despite that he struggled to break the ironclad grip that Orias's held on his weapon. His endeavor however would prove fruitless when his strength ran out and he collapsed to the ground. Orias's and his horse stood up on the ground and he raised his staff with a proud salute to his perceived victory. Swinging his staff around himself he laughed manically as he prepared for his finishing strike.

"ZIONGA!" A pixie screamed as loud as she could as a bolt of lightning suddenly struck Orias stunning him in place. The pixie flew over to Kazuya while nodding to the knocker who ran over to Yuji's side and gave him a hard smack to bring him to his senses.

"What? How?" Yuji mumbled still recovering from his stupor. He turns his eyes to the ground to look at the knocker that Kazuya had summoned. The diminutive demon started to jump up and down trying to get Yuji's attention.

"No time! Hurry and slash that guy a new one! I'll use my magic to help your sword, now go!" The knocker shouted at Yuji who decided to go along with the plan and do as asked. Yuji drew his sword and charged at Orias who was still stunned from before. While he was moving he heard the knocker cry out the name of a spell.

"TARU-KAJA!" The knocker announced with glowing hands and a dramatic lunge forward that caused all the members of his party to emit a white glow briefly. Yuji noticed the magic taking effect in throughout his body granting him a greater strength than he had ever known. With even greater confidence he slashed at Orias with a powerful cut that sent him from flying from his steed. Orias's horse collapsed to the ground and dissipated into the air while its rider crashed against the wall and recovered just in time to be attacked by Kazuya who had been healed from his injuries by the pixie. Once again he swung his staff to block and again their weapons met in a dead heat. However this time neither side could outmatch the other. Both struggled to keep up the pressure and in turn neither seemed poised to break the other's stance. That was until Orias's staff as sent flying from his hand the moment Yuji fired 3 bullets in succession at his hands causing him to lose both his grip and his stance.

"Now die." Kazuya uttered in complete confidence as he drove his sword against Orias's body slashing him with a renewed strength and anger. Orias was visibly harmed by the blade's cuts but was down yet. When Kazuya came in for a second slash Orias caught the incoming blade and pointed his other hand at Kazuya open palmed.

"Dolminer." Orias chanted as a wave of magic hit Kazuya and sent him to sleep. Orias tossed Kazuya to the floor and turned at a 45 degree angle to meet with a magic gust of wind that cut at his body with fierce gales. Yuji nodded at the knocker who was the source of the gust and ran towards the demon for his own attack.

"Cursed human." Orias spat at the ground out of sheer contempt for these humans and the spineless demons that followed them. He lunged both his arms forward and prepared for another spell but was stopped when a bolt of lightning struck him again and froze him in place. Just in time to be cut apart by Yuji's sword.

"AAGHHH!" Orias screamed in frustration as his life was taken by the very creature he had worked to enslave. Yuji drove his sword through Orias's chest and stomped his foot on his chest when he collapsed to the floor. He even sheathed his sword, pulled out his gun and shot the demon in its head just to be sure. As was the case with the demons before them Orias's corpse soon dissipated and faded into nothing. Yuji put back his gun and stopped to catch his breath and realize just what he had done. Turning his head he saw Kazuya rise to his feet and take notice of the situation.

"We've won… I guess." Kazuya confirmed their victory with a bittersweet feeling in his mouth. Yes they had won this battle, but how many humans had already been killed? And how many more were likely to die once this demon was replaced by the countless other otherworldly beings. The more he thought of the grand scale of things he feared that this victory just might be inconsequential in the greater war against the demon threat.

"Uh Demon Summoner sir?" A small voice came from behind Kazuya.

"Yes?" He responded in a tired tone.

"Will weredog be okay?" The knocker asked with genuine concern in his voice. Looking closer it seemed that tears were forming in the little demon's eyes. Kazuya was not the type to sugar-coat the truth and was not going to change that policy even now.

"I'm sorry; I don't know where he is now. For all intents and purposes, he's dead." Kazuya confirmed with a gentle nod. The knocker lowered his head and tried to hold back the tears that started to fall from its eyes.

"I s-see. Can I go back to the computer now? I'd like some time alone thanks."

"Okay." Kazuya accepted the request and opened his armcomp and inputted some code and within a few moments the knocker disappeared from sight. Kazuya turned around and noticed the pixie floating near his head with a similarly dim expression across her small face.

"I'm rather tired myself… So if I could?" The pixie awkwardly tried to avoid the subject that he was sure plagued her as well as the knocker. Judging by the way she seemed to avoid looking at him and was focused on things like the wall or the table he could tell what she was thinking.

"Of course." Kazuya read between the lines and sent her back to his comp with the tapping of a few keys. This left him alone with Yuji who was searching for the switch that kept on the auto lock. He discovered it behind one of the anatomy diagrams and slashed the switch with his blade, breaking the device and opening the lock outside both the room and the building.

"Justice has been served, and we've saved ourselves for now. Now I need to get out of here and find Yuka. I'd like to have you join me Kazuya." Yuji put forward his offer to Kazuya hoping that the two of them could help each other in this dangerous and uncertain world. Kazuya didn't even bother to look at Yuji and instead kept his back turned staring at the door out.

"I will help you for now, provided that I you allow me to check on my mom first. I worry you understand?" Kazuya's voice seemed to hold a cold monotone that suggested that either he was putting up a tough front, or that his intentions lay elsewhere. Yuji sighed at his inability to read the boy but decided to accept the terms anyway.

"No problem. I saw your mom in that dream remember? I'd actually like to see if she's okay too. She seemed really worried about you." Yuji tried to get Kazuya to open up about his family but was met with a wall of silence.

"Nevermind, let's go." Yuji proposed and Kazuya agreed. The two left the room and made their way down the stairs to the main floor. One thing they noticed was that all of the prisoners and captives were now gone. This included Steven which gave Kazuya some pause. He had hoped to talk with the man further and perhaps gain a deeper understanding of the ridiculous circumstance that he had found himself in. Yuji on the other hand was focused almost exclusively on finding Yuka and ensuring that she was safe. He was hoping to meet with his father and ask him if he could get the military and police to perform a search for her. He knew that it was an abuse of his influence as the general's son, but he didn't care. Yuka was above all other matters in his mind.

The two left the hospital and took another look at the neighborhood they had once called home. The effects of the demon invasion had grown not quite substantially but noticeably since their incarceration. Police and military personnel were all over the place and police sirens filled the air with noise. Blood spatter and signs of violence were common throughout the streets. It got to the point where it seemed anyone that the two saw they suspected of being a demon in disguise.

"All my life, I figured that this kind of thing could never happen to me. Not in Japan, not in the real world… but now, I don't recognize anything anymore. Everything is clouded in the mystery and horror that one feels when walking down a dark alley in a city they've never known. It's as if my entire frame of reference for what is real and what isn't has been ripped apart and eaten before my eyes." Kazuya blurted out what was on his mind just as the two passed Kichijoji mall.

"That's one way of putting it." Yuji responded succinctly identifying somewhat with what Kazuya was going through. While he had always felt that there was more to the world than the mundane, he had never expected it to turn up like this. The whole scenario was coloured in a sort of absurdity that made it hard to believe it was actually happening. Kazuya stopped in his tracks just outside the mall entrance and stared at the door for a moment.

"If we're going to survive this, we're going to have to get some supplies and information." Kazuya reasoned as he reached for the door.

"Wait! Shouldn't we at least check with our families first? We can get supplies there! I'm sure my dad has plenty of weapons for us to use!" Yuji wasn't in any mood to delay his making contact with his loved ones any more than absolutely necessary. Kazuya however brushed off Yuji's concerns and entered the building saying as he went.

"This may be our only chance to obtain the tools we need before this place is put under siege by the demons. We may not even make to your family after all." Kazuya's cold, logical attitude got right under Yuji's skin in a manner that he knew would probably come back to bother him again. While he wanted to debate further, he realized he didn't have the time or energy to argue. Admitting defeat once again he ran after Kazuya into the mall.

"You asshole, don't give me that shit!" An enraged thug cursed at the beaten victim at his feet. The victim narrowed his eyes and snarled back prompting a kick in his face that broke his nose and sent him to the ground. Three other boys surrounded the two laughing and taunted the broken boy in the background.

"Demons my ass! What the hell have you been smoking, you little punk! Rough 'im up a little more boys!" The gang of thugs continues to beat the youth up kicking, punching and smashing him against the walls and ground like a ragdoll. Kazuya and Yuji watch the scene with varying levels of disgust. The two came across this brutal scene just after entering the mall and were prompted to look upon it simply due to the noise that the gang was making. Kazuya stood back in silent disgust while Yuji clenched his fists and grit his teeth at this abhorrent scene of injustice.

"God this is awful… I can't let this cowardice continue!" Yuji lost his ability to stand idle and stormed towards the group of thugs with righteous indignation burning in his heart. Kazuya folded his arms and decided to let Yuji take the spotlight this time. He knew that incidents with people being abused like this were likely to become commonplace in this current environment. With that in mind he didn't feel the need to help this one individual when greater good could by dealing with the big picture. The gang paid little attention to Yuji at first and instead continued their beating. Yuji however, was not about to let this crime pass him by.

"Hey you! What do you think you're doing! Stop that!" Yuji shouted with as much strength as he had left and even pulled out his gun to illustrate his point. He fired a warning shot near the head of one of the thugs which sent 3/4s of the gang running like cockroaches. The only ones who remained were the head thug and the bespectacled young man on the ground, struggling to breath.

"Hmph, looks like we got ourselves an unwanted visitor." The head thug noticed Yuji's gun pointed at his head and then turned his head to the beaten youth.

"Eh, no big deal. Don't try and fuck with us again, you little pissant, or you'll just get more of the same. Come on, boys!" The thug gave the youth one more kick before walking off. Kazuya overheard him cursing that his gang had run off on him without his noticing half-way through the scene and thus had made him look like a fool in the process.

Yuji ran over to the young man and placed his hand on his back silently mouthing his dia spell as he did. The boy's injuries faded quickly and the boy turned to look at both Kazuya and Yuji.

"…D-damn it, I won't let…. A bunch of lowlife assholes like you push me around… I'll show you…" The boy still had difficulty getting to his feet despite the effects of Yuji's magic. His winter camo trench coat moved with him in jagged motions as his body got on its feet. He had short black hair that was brushed upwards on his head and glasses that seemed to be broken. Yuji kept at his side still worrying over to boy's physical state.

"Hey, are you all right?" Yuji asked him honestly, the boy however snapped back and shoved Yuji's hand away.

"Shut up! Don't mock me… If only I was a little tougher, I'd kick your asses…" He threatened Yuji with a strange flailing of his arms. Yuji stepped back and watched as this unknown boy make threatening gestures and remarks at a seemingly invisible foe.

"Not quite the thanks you expected eh, Yuji?" Kazuya snarked while watching the boy point a spiked rod he pulled from his coat at the wall. Yuji ran a hand through his hair and made a low chuckle.

"So now what, Kazuya? He's in a daze—he doesn't seem to know what's going on talking like that." Yuji turned to Kazuya wondering if perhaps this had something to do with demonic possession or something. Kazuya shook his head.

"Seems so, it's possible he's suffered brain damage, or he's just retarded. Either way he seems like a pain." Kazuya found the antics of this boy to be amusingly familiar to someone else that he knew. While it wasn't enough to make him smile or happy, he found he had to try and find humour even in the darkest parts of life. It was only after Kazuya finished speaking he realized that the boy was staring heavily at Yuji.

"…H-hey… What did you just say?" The boy seemed to be oddly fascinated by Yuji and started getting a little too close for Kazuya's comfort. Yuji on the other hand was rather unfazed by the approach.

"…Kazuya…You said… Kazuya, right?" Yuji nodded gently and the boy turned to the person in question and began looking him over.

"Uhhh…" Kazuya tried to hold back the urge to shove the boy away and run off.

"That name… Ah! You're Kazuya?" The boy exclaimed loudly prompting a very uncomfortable nod from Kazuya who backed away.

"Yeah…" Kazuya uttered hoping this guy would get to the point of this whole creepy speech. The boy moved back and adjusted himself so that he could stand straight with confidence. He put on a cocky smile and even laughed a little.

"Now I remember! I knew I recognized you from somewhere. Then that really wasn't just a dream! And so if you're Kazuya… then you must be Yuji right?" The boy indicated correctly the names of the two. Kazuya could already tell where this was going so he held his head in disbelief.

"…So you must be Takeshi." Yuji made the connection and suddenly he felt his spirit soar in excitement. While it wasn't Yuka, he was nonetheless glad that he had found another member of their little "dream team" and figured that with Takeshi with them, he would be even more likely to find Yuka and perhaps even save Tokyo. The two of them met in a big brotherly hug where Takeshi expressed his own joy in finding the boys from his dream and his appreciation for what they did.

"Now I get it! You guys really saved my butt back there. Ahh…. Shit! Damn it all! If only I was stronger…" Takeshi broke off from Yuji's embrace and started to cry; he took off his glasses and pulled out a spare from his coat pocket while he spoke.

"I'm so weak, I can't even handle a bunch of lowlifes like them by myself. How am I going to beat the demons invading Tokyo when I can't even stand up to a bunch of thugs like Ozawa's gang? Guys! Please, let me come with you! Together we might be able to do something!" Takeshi pleaded to Kazuya and Yuji opting away from his tough guy image to showcase just how desperate he was. Kazuya looked at how pathetic Takeshi was acting and felt a sense of reservation in his mind.

"Well…" Kazuya's attempt at expression his uneasiness was cut off quickly when Takeshi sensed Kazuya's attitude and responded.

"Even if you say no, I'm still coming along!" And with that Takeshi joined the party and the three of them discussed their plan of attack. They agreed to head straight to Kazuya's house first so that they could ease Kazuya's worries and check online for new updates from Steven. From there they would try to make contact with Yuji's father Gotou and see about dealing with the demon invasion and finding both Yukas. There was a sense of hope amidst a sea of destruction and decay. And they were not going to let their talents go to waste.

END OF CHAPTER V

_A/N: Apologies for the lateness of this chapter, I have been somewhat busy with my personal life (or lack their of) as well as the Raidou Kuzonoha games which have been giving me plenty of Shin Megami Tenseiastic fun!..._

…_._

_I solemnly swear never to say that again._

_Anyway, this chapter was pretty hard to write as most of it was fight scenes and condensing dungeon sequences and the like. Once again I tried to incorporate some of the NPC talk where I could and even tried my best to write a good fight scene for the boss battle. And while I do try to stick to the abilities and skills as presented in the game, I did make so alterations. One key difference is that in the game Orias is actually really, really easy. I could have written him as such but I felt that wouldn't be dramatic and interesting enough, and besides I wanted to get across just how f-ed up their whole situation is. _

_I also introduced the notion of demons dying here which is a bit of a change from in game. I'm not sure how far I'm going to run with this but I might make is so that if a demon dies and is not revived quickly, then they are dead and cannot come back. It may make it easier to explain the constant shift in the demons they use as well as keep some tension in the battles._

_I'm still trying to get a handle on the interactions between the characters and their personalities. My fear is that the lines that I take from the game and the lines I make up may come across as jarring to the characterization. I wouldn't want to establish a personality for example with Takeshi that is directly contrasted with the dialogue he has in game. I hope that the further I go the better I will be able to incorporate both my original ideas and the games._

**Takeshi: **With the harm you've done I'm surprised people don't think I have multiple personalities or something.

**Kazuya: **Well to be fair, at least he didn't botch your introduction by adding in a bunch of unnecessary dialogue.

**Takeshi: **Oh? And what would you call those lame-ass comments you were making? Rapier like wit my ass!

**Kazuya: **I happen to think I was rather clever thank you.

**Yuji: **Clever? Insulting a character whose defining character trait is that he gets his ass kicked doesn't take a lot of effort.

**Takeshi: **Yeah, thanks for the sensitivity Yuji Mr. White Knight! You're oh so concerned with the suffering of others along as the person suffering has a nice rack! But you see my ass getting kicked and you help out just to make fun of me!

**Yuji: **Excuse me!

**Takeshi: **That's right I said it! You're not a gentleman! You're just another pervert!

**Yuji: **Oh chivalry be damned, your ass is mine!

**Kazuya: **Aren't you going to stop them Drake?

**Drake: **Are you kidding? As long as their fighting, I'm not getting heckled! I'm getting out of here while I can.


	7. Black Soul of Despair

**Chapter VI: Black Soul of Despair**

_A/N I do not own any of the characters or concepts regarding Shin Megami Tensei, this is a fan work and is non-profit._

Kazuya, Yuji and Takeshi left the mall and battled their way through the streets. Night had begun to fade in and the darkness brought a new level of atmosphere to the city. Streetlights attempted to illuminate the shadows but only a few were still in working condition. Takeshi held his MP5 tightly in his hands and darted his eyes back and forth across the horizon line, he was eager to assert his strength against any demon that came after them. Kazuya put on his headphones and listened to the radio for any news about their situation. Unfortunately all he could hear was the DJ avoiding the subject like the plague, it was clear that he wanted to talk about the recent violence, but couldn't say anything specific. Kazuya was only listening to it passively but the DJ briefly mentioned something that gave him pause.

"Hey did you hear this? They arrested a psychotic murderer in Kichijoji yesterday. It makes me feel better to know that a lunatic like that is off the streets!" Kazuya clenched his fists and in a huff turned off the radio.

"What's wrong?" Yuji asked in genuine concern, noticing Kazuya's sudden poor attitude. Kazuya turned away and lowered his gaze to the ground.

"It's nothing, just turns out the radios as useless as I'd expect. And on that note we're here." The three looked over at Kazuya's house; it was a small, but practical building, it had a traditional design but with various modern features that were clearly added on. Kazuya took a deep breath and nodded his head.

"So this is the place, hey mind if we check Yuka's house afterwards? Her father might know where she is!" Yuji leaned his head back and thought about her again, he felt his mood lighten just by thinking about her. Kazuya didn't respond so Takeshi stepped in.

"Yeah, sure, whatever! Let's just get this over with! I've never been good at introducing myself to adults… or anyone for that matter." Takeshi gave Kazuya and Yuji a shove each and they both nodded their heads and entered Kazuya's home.

Judging just by the entrance alone it was clear that something wasn't right. Some of the furniture of heavily damaged and overturned, there was dirt all across the floor and other signs of forced entry and a struggle. Kazuya's eyes widened in horror and suddenly memories from the vision he had days ago returned. His mouth began to twitch and his hand clutched parts of his hair. He looked like he was having a panic attack, a sight that drew concern from both Yuji and Takeshi.

"This… doesn't look right. Hey Kazuya! Is your house usually like this? Dude?" Takeshi looked to Kazuya's shaken figure and hesitantly placed hand on his shoulder which was immediately taken off by Kazuya who did so without turning away. Takeshi realized how scared Kazuya was and decided to keep his distance.

"woof…" A creature from the boys right weakly exclaimed. Yuji and Takeshi turned around and their worlds suddenly became focused intensely on the injured creature at their feet. Pascal, Kazuya's loyal pet dog lay on the ground struggling for breath, bloody gnashes covered his body and his fur was dyed red and brown in dirt and blood. Yuji bent onto one knee.

"Hey there little guy! Awww, you poor thing, let me heal you up!" Yuji cooed at the dog while casting Dia on the canine's bloody form. Takeshi frowned and turned away from the image. He wasn't going to let such an abuse of an animal get by him.

"C'mon Kazuya, we're going!" Takeshi stormed towards the kitchen at the end of the hall, Kazuya wordlessly followed along his face still frozen in terror. Yuji finished healing Pascal and ran over to the other boys.

"Welcome home, Kazuya." Megami Akanaka greeted her son with a sickeningly sweet smile. Kazuya remained unflinching, his mouth wide open agape with his lower lip trembling. The other boys looked at each other in confusion. The signs of a struggle and the wounds inflicted on Pascal really didn't match. Takeshi and Yuji kept quiet studying the movements and demeanor of the seemingly gentle housewife.

"I'm always so worried about you. I'm glad you came home all right in one piece! I'm so happy! Please, come over to me…" She stepped backwards and opened her arms up awaiting a big hug from her dear son. She closed her eyes in anticipation for his embrace that never came. Kazuya's head was permanently downturned it seemed. His hair fell in front of his eyes placing a dark shadow over his face. The hairs on his arms stood up stood up in fear, sweat covered his face. His breathing grew heavier and heavier the longer the silence between his mother and him lasted.

"What's wrong? Come here! I love you, always! Come on! Hurry!" Megami pleaded to her son, waving her arms frantically in with exaggerated movements. Kazuya emitted a nervous chuckle at the sight but level of discomfort remained high with his hands shivering at his sides. Yuji shook his head and stepped towards the woman.

"I don't like this. Something's strange here." Yuji's questioning of the scenario brought Takeshi forward as well who cracked his neck and outstretched his arms.

"I second that thought. There's something fishy here… it doesn't smell right!" Takeshi vocal disapproval was met with agreement from Yuji who examined Megami closer to her growing feeling of hostility. Kazuya remained motionless his head downturned unwilling to look his mother in the eyes. A palatable sense of gloom had overtaken the already melancholic teen leaving him in a statue like state.

"M-mom…" Kazuya exhaled with tremendous effort for what amounted to a very delicate sound. Time seemed to stand still while the four stood in a diamond like shape. Kazuya and his mother on one end, and Yuji and Takeshi in the middle on her right and left respectively both scowling with suspicion at this woman for whom they in truth, had little reason to suspect, beyond a gut feeling that overwhelmed both of them.

Only the sound of a growing laughter broke the quiet lull.

"Damn… You kids are sharp." Megami's voice grew progressively less and less human as she spoke. Her voice soon became overtaken by that of some sort of demonic creature. Her body too began to change; her skin became an unhealthy pale white, followed by a bright yellow that looked irradiated beyond repair. Yuji and Takeshi backed out of the kitchen and stood on guard at the entrance as the creature's shape started to tear itself out of the skin of Megami Akanaka.

"…I'm sure you're all wondering, so I'll let you know that I've taken your mother." The demon admitted with a sadistic bellowing laugh.

"Had to get through that damn dog to get to her, but it was oh so worth it! I knew the moment I saw her face in that photo I needed to have her skin. But can you blame me? It's so wonderful to feel pretty, even if it's only on the outside." The demon, cloaked in shadows taunted the boys further even going as far as to hold the torn up skin of Megami in its hand, it even played with it and treated it like a rubber costume or doll.

Takeshi and Yuji were simply too disgusted for words at this complete and utter desecration of a human life. Both paralyzed with fear, hatred and bewilderment. Kazuya however was unfazed by the reveal. That was until he turned his head upwards and faced the demon, tears running down his eyes staining his eyes red. The demon looked at him as a curiosity; he had not expected such a reaction to arise, from the boy, especially when compared to how the others had responded.

"Aw what's with that face! Come on, there's no reason to be sad." The demon taunted Kazuya further, eagerly waiting for the moment the boy's resolve was broken.

"You'll see her soon enough… in my stomach! Until then, why don't you entertain me for a bit!" The demon roared in laughter once again and stomped its feet. Its body stepped out of the concealing darkness. The two boys in the back drew their weapons and prepared for battle while Kazuya stood in the center of it all still unmoving.

"I hope you taste as good as she did!" The demon cackled as it charged at Kazuya who in a single movement drew his sword countered the demon's strike. The demon fell backwards about a meter but then jumped onto a kitchen counter and snarled.

The demon was only about 3 ½ feet tall and had dark aqua skin that seemed to cloak into the dark room. His body was hunched over with a crop of long blond hair messily obscuring most of its face. Vacant red eyes followed Kazuya closely. However it's most noticeable feature was the long horn on his head that was covered in the blood and insides of Megami, it wore the stench of her death as a sort of prize.

"I don't know what that thing is. But like hell if it's getting away with this! AGI!" Takeshi yelled out as his right arm lunged a fireball at the demon. The demon was partially burned by the flames but was still far from death. Charging head first at Kazuya the demon gored into the boy's shoulder blade before being dropped to the ground by a kick to the chest. Yuji gripped his firearm and pulled the trigger unloading a bullet into the demon.

The demon shook its head and clasped its hands together. A red light coated its skin while it screeched.

"Raku-kaja!"

Kazuya wasted no time and slashed that the creature causing a minor laceration on the chest. Takeshi pulled his gun out and fired a shot while running to get behind the demon. Yuji nodded his head and joined Kazuya at the front with his katana swinging down at the demon. Without speaking the three coordinated a sort of strategy to try and pin the demon in place.

"Taru-dna!" The demon screeched out another incantation this time covering the boys in a red light that seemed to sap the strength from their bodies.

"Damnit!" Takeshi cursed as he fired off once again, failing to get a effective shot at the creature. Yuji attacked once again but found his strength failing him and his sword seemingly less and less effective. He tried to hold the demon's horn in check but was facing a losing fight.

"Argh!" Yuji relented and moved away from the body, sheathing his sword in the process. He knew that doing this meant that the only one who could move was Kazuya but he had no choice but to place his trust in the boy for now.

"You won't move." Kazuya uttered between breaths as he held the demon in one place with his sword with one hand, and with the other activated his armcomp and summoned Knocker to his side.

"Raku-kaja!" The demon laughed out as his skin was coated in a thicker red light. It seemed that despite being unable to move, it had decided to play a war of attrition, hoping to use enough magic to outlast the boys' strength.

"ZAN!" Yuji roared out with the gust of wind that slammed into the demon's body. The attack was followed by another gunshot from Takeshi who was starting to wonder if the demon's anatomy held any weaknesses.

"Taru-nda!" The piercing sound of that same spell entered the boy's ears once again. And once again the strength from their bodies started to leave them. Kazuya's sword fell from the demon's side and was dropped to back into it's sheathe while he caught his breath. The Knocker however noticed this and quickly ran in to take Kazuya's place, using whatever power he could to hold the demon foe in check.

"Dia!" Yuji cried as the wound on Kazuya's shoulder magically closed and healed itself. Taking advantage of the strength that had just returned to that arm he pulled out his blade once again and cut at the demon, followed by a strike from the Knocker and a shot from Takeshi.

Despite all of the blows the boys had thrown at the demon it seemed that it was not being harmed enough to slow it down. For what it lacked in strength it made up for with speed and endurance. And it was only growing tougher while the boys grew exhausted.

"Well what now?"

"Fuck if I can tell! Kaz! Any ideas?"

Kazuya shook his head but turned his head towards the Knocker who started bouncing up and down.

"I've got something I could try! Taku-kaja!" A green light flowed across the boys chipping away at the effects of the enemy demon's magic. The boys felt their joints relax and their muscles reinvigorate as the magic eased the heavy weight that was holding them down. The three exchanged looks of renewed vigor and continued prepared their assault.

The demon however only cackled on before repeating its own spell. Only this time the magic had layered them with a burden so heavy that they could barley even move, effectively damning their hopes of physical attacks.

"Taru-kaja! Taru-kaja!" The knocker exclaimed with all its might but the weight of the demon's magic was too great to be broken. Their chances of victory seemed slim, the demon broke free from their guards and lowered its head, pointed directly at Kazuya, who was on the ground too weak to evade. The Knocker tried to intervene but was kicked away into a wall by the demon.

"Kazuya…" Yuji whispered as he struggled to try and focus on what he could do. Weapons were worthless at this point it seemed, and magic was… wait magic? Yes that was right, he had use wind spells before and Takeshi had used fire. It was just that it seemed to occur only when they were in the right frame of mind to use it. He had trouble doing it consciously, but he had to try.

"Takeshi!"

"Yeah?"  
"Burn that son of a bitch down!" The two exchanged nods and then in a single moment the two yelled out their spells.

"AGI!"

"ZAN!" The two spells hit the demon from opposite ends halfway on its course towards Kazuya. And the effects of both blasts of magic colliding with the demon caused its body to crack apart from the impact, collimating into an explosion of magical energy, and gore from the creatures insides.

"What…" Kazuya looked up in shock, his entire body coated in the remains of the demon and its victims. His eyes stared unblinkly at the carnage that surrounded him, flashbacks of his family life, the good and the bad replaying in his eyes. Even as the demon's magic faded and his remains evaporated, Kazuya was still bathed in his mother's flesh her half digested remains coated him in a variety of stomach acids, blood, and other fluids that once made up the most important woman in his life.

The other two boys helped him to his feet each one unable to even begin to understand the kind of trauma their companion had just experienced. Thoughts of their own families entered their minds as well, and they imagined how they might react if they were placed in his circumstances. Neither boy was able to give it much thought before they focused on something else.

Yuji placed a hand on Kazuya's shoulder; he stared at Kazuya's catatonic, unresponsive state and felt his heart sink in seeing Kazuya's puffy red eyes still pouring with tears. He slowly embraced Kazuya and patted his back from behind in an attempt to comfort him.

"Kazuya… I don't think there's anything I could say that could provide much comfort, but… try not to feel too bad." Yuji soothingly told Kazuya his grip on the boy tightening as he himself started to cry. Takeshi who was watching the two hold each other in a mix of unease and guilt, lashed out at the sound of Yuji's voice.

"Try not to feel too BAD! Damn, that was insensitive Yuji!" Takeshi lunged over at Yuji and shoved him away from Kazuya who simply remained in place. Yuji grit his teeth and was about to shout back at Takeshi when he was cut off by a hand in front of his lips.

"For god's sake man, his mother just got killed! I know you mean well, but don't try to console him. Just give him a moment to himself!" Takeshi then released his hand and stared to rummage through the ruined kitchen. Yuji opened his mouth to respond but then closed it after he considered Takeshi's viewpoint.

_I guess you're more in tune with people's emotions than I thought Takeshi _Yuji thought to himself, offering Takeshi a compliment he would never hear. The two went about scavenging for any food or items they could take with themselves while Kazuya remained frozen. That was until he assaulted by another resident of the Akanaka homestead.

"Bowwow! Bowwow! Bowwow!" Pascal, Kazuya's trusted canine friend jumped into his master's arms and started licking his face affectionately, as if wanting wipe clean the boy's troubles as well as his body. This action provoked a sound of child like laughter from Kazuya who started playing with the dog as if all his troubles were behind him.

"Awww, I'm sorry boy! I shouldn't have just ignored you like that! Tell you what you can come with me and the others on our journey. Would you like that boy?" Kazuya asked Pascal who gave an excited bark in return. He gave Pascal a big hug and started shaking off all of the gore that have coated him before.

"Hey guys! Can Pascal come with us? I bet he can protect us like he tried to protect mom!" Kazuya asked his companions with an enthusiasm that they just couldn't turn down. Both of them cracked a smile and nodded in agreement.

"Sure, a brave friend like him will be great asset on our journey." Yuji reasoned with confident thumps up. Takeshi pumped his fists in excitement and started shadow punching the air.

"Hell yeah! Demons beware! Pascal the dog is coming for you!" Takeshi shouted out as if daring the demons of the world to come for him at this very moment. Kazuya saw how hard the two of them were trying to cheer him up and suddenly he felt his eyes water with tears of gratitude and joy. He felt a sense of camaraderie with these two that he had told himself could never happen.

"Thanks guys." Kazuya told them both while they were busy discussing with each other about what to bring with them on their journey, how much could they carry, where to go etc. Kazuya saw that he wasn't getting through to either of them so he decided another tactic.

"Uh guys? I'm sure you've all noticed but we're all coated in all kinds of shit right now, so I'd suggest we go take a bath while we're here." Kazuya's suggestion had the desired effect and within seconds both Yuji & Takeshi were smelling themselves, and coming to the same realization.

"Y-yeah, good idea. Not to mention if we do see Yuka's father next, I want to make a good impression."

"Yuka? You mean the girl from the dreams? You know her Yuji?" Takeshi looked over at Yuji, subtly sizing him up as a man and potential romantic rival for the affections of any women they might come across. Yuji quickly shook his head and held his hands out open palmed.

"No, not that Yuka, it's a different girl I'm 100% sure." Yuji defended himself from Takeshi's inquisitive stare. Takeshi got uncomfortably close to Yuji, checking his facial expression and body language for any signs of deceit on his part.

"Alright, you're story checks out." Takeshi moved away from him and pulled out and lit a cigarette.

"So, about are we going to go together? Or are we going to take turns? Because if it's the former I should warn you, I don't take well to guys staring at my junk." Takeshi shot a glare at Kazuya & Yuji who met his subtle accusations with different reactions.

"Considering how long we have until either a, the military forces us to start rationing water use. B, our power & water either shut off by the military or by demons. Or c, we get attacked again. I'd suggest we have one together, pack up and find some shelter for tonight, I don't feel particularly safe here. Oh and before you ask, Pascal will guard us while we clean up alright?" Kazuya made his case clear to the others who responded more of less with compliance.

The three boys entered the Akanaka household's main bathroom and stripped down in what was a rather tense situation. Yuji sat behind Takeshi washing his back humming a song to himself pleasantly. He was able to handle the situation the most naturally due to his open and friendly nature. He also felt a very small ting of superiority when he compared the level of physical fitness he possessed in comparison to the others. The training his father had mandated for him had made him quite lean and his muscles toned for long lengths of physical activity. While he was not what many would consider a vain person. He did like to think that all the work he had put into bettering himself for others (especially Yuka.) had paid off.

Kazuya disrobed and stepped into the bathwater, his distant stare and indifferent disposition returning after his blights with catatonic terror and childlike playfulness. He did however find himself fixated on watching the blood of his mother wash from his body and down the lengths of his figure to the sinkhole where it left him never to be seen again. He stared into the water, replaying the memory of when that blood came over him earlier. Wondering if that was what it was like to be born, coming out from your mother's womb covered in her fluids.

Takeshi stared down at his waist glad that he couldn't see very well without his glasses. He hated bathing with other guys because whenever he did he always compared how they looked with himself. And as far as he was concerned, they always made him feel even more disgusting and ugly than he normally thought he was. Of course he could never let anyone know how insecure he was about that sort of thing. If Ozawa and his gang learned that he had a body image problem he'd never hear the end of their jokes. He took a blurry look at his scrawny arms slim waist. He wasn't fat, but he was simply featureless. As far as he was concerned he was as soft and lacking in definition as a toddler.

"Yuji I appreciate you doing this, but I swear if your hands go any longer than where you are right now, I might just have to call rape on you." Takeshi snapped at Yuji without turning his head even an inch. Yuji's hands froze in place and then quickly retreated from Takeshi's skin as if they were blazing hot. Wincing in surprise and sudden shyness Yuji backed away.

"W-what's your problem man? Why the hell would I even… just no! Get your mind out of the gutter!" Yuji shook his head trying to force certain rather yaoiesque scenes from his head. It wasn't that he had any interest in Takeshi in that way, it was simply a matter of what Yuka might think if she heard about it.

"Look I'm just making things clear alright? I don't swing that way, don't care if you do or anything. I just want to make sure my boundaries are respected." Takeshi explained turning to face Yuji who scooted away from him the moment their eyes met.

"I-I know, I-I get it. It's just y'know I-I never saw what we were doing in that sort of why before y'know? I mean I used to wash my instructors back all the time when we bathed after training? It was kind of fun and totally innocent I mean." Yuji stammered out an explanation all the while hiding his flustered face that was only know wondering if any of those moments in his past had been in any way sexual without his knowledge.

"I-I don't think he ever saw me like that… I mean… I-I-I never saw him like that! N-no way! He's like 20 years older than me, so he couldn't… unless… oh god what if he's a shota- no! No! NO! Stop it! Just calm down… think of Yuka, that's right dear sweet calming Yuka, sexy, pretty, bust- NO! Bad idea! Stop thinking of Yuka, now is definitely not the time…. Maybe later." Yuji's unintentionally external monologue was met with an awkward glare from Takeshi who decided to just keep to his own business. And a brief glance between introspective gazes into the water from Kazuya.

Pascal sat patiently outside the bathroom door the whole time forever vigilantly watching for any demons that may attack his master or his master's companions. His failure to abide by his master's orders earlier burdened heavy this loyal dog. But he was determined to prove his worth and fulfill the wishes of the master's late mother, who had pleaded for Pascal to keep Kazuya safe as she was eaten alive. Deep inside of Pascal grew a new sense of self, born of a fierce loyalty and dedication to justice for those who it cared for. This entity was not something of this world, but it was not of the demons either, rather it was a sort of fused entity that was unexplainable to either side of the equation. A type of being that could one day save the world.

The darkness had finally engulfed the city in it's entirely, the distances between lightposts were the only barrier from the pitch black world around them. All the while the three boys + dog left the Akanaka home each one carrying a backpack full of food and supplies. They, of course were only traveling a short distance to the house next door, but even a distance like that seemed scary to the three boys. Once they reached the front door of Kazuya's neighbour the boy in question took a deep breath and rang the doorbell. Yuji slowly jogged to his side while Takeshi turned away hoping not to be noticed.

"Hello? Oh if it isn't Kazuya!" Yuka's father opened the door and greeted the boys with a friendly smile. Yuka's father's occupation was made readily apparent by his full on doctor garb that he wore at just about all times, as well as his bushy black hair that hung around the back of his balding head like the bottom half of a hood. Kazuya nodded while Yuji gave a respectful bow (Takeshi paid no attention).

"Hi Mr. Takeuchi"- "Is Yuka home?" Kazuya began but Yuji finished. Mr. Takeuchi's smile faded slightly and slumped his shoulders.

"Actually, Yuka never came back from school. I was worried so I called the school but they hadn't heard anything. Have you boys seen my daughter?" Mr. Takeuchi pleaded with his eyes for any information from the trio who shook their heads. Mr. Takeuchi sighed and groaned in worry for his dear daughter.

"I see… Kazuya, if you have any idea where she might be, do you think you could look for her? I could really use your help. She said she was going to Shinjuku after school, but…" He trailed off into worried musing that were interrupted when Yuji grabbed his hand with a sudden strength behind them and gazed into the anxious father's eyes with tears of passion flowing freely.

"Sir, you may not know me yet, but your daughter is extremely important to me, and I will DEFINITLEY find her! You can be SURE OF THAT SIR!" Yuji shook the man's hands vigorously until the older figure shook himself free from the young man's grip. He gave a nervous smile and awkward chuckle to Yuji who had come across as some sort of crazed stalker rather than a loving boyfriend.

"I see… err… well… thank you young man. See… too… it….that…you…..do…..bye." The doctor closed the door only to reopen it again with a set of three first aid kits that he gave to everyone who visited his door (he was a quirky man to say the least.) The boys took the kits and packed up before leaving the block.

"So much for finding out about Yuka, where do you suppose we should head next?" Kazuya looked over to Yuji who was still preoccupied with thoughts of Yuka. Sighing he turned his head to Takeshi who shrugged his shoulders and shook his head. With a woe some sigh he swallowed his breath and began to articulate his plans.

"Alright, here's the plan, we need to get to Yuji's place where he had weapons and supplies aplenty. However due to the police blockades we can't leave this part of town. Now rather than try to fight the police like idiots I suggest we try to make use of that teleportation system that Steven talked about earlier. And if we use that card we found at my house, we just might be able to make it into the building that stores the device. If I remember correctly I think it's the same building we all saw in our dreams last time. It's just a matter of finding that building and fighting our way (if necessary) to the teleporter, alright?" Kazuya turned to Takeshi who was in the middle of lighting another cigarette.

"Huh? Yeah sounds good to me." Takeshi nonchalantly agreed.

"Yeah, lead the way boss." Yuji commented quickly before resuming his moping.

"Bowwow! Bowwow!" Pascal barked with gusto.

"Good to know my leadership skills are going unnoticed." Kazuya added with a sigh. As far as he was concerned, in any group he was supposed to be one of the guys who stood quietly in the background, too self-absorbed to say anything or help out in anyway, which made him more perplexed as how he became the leader of a group of demon summoning/magical teenagers.

"Still, if I can save this world with the skills that I've acquired…. Then it will all be worth it…. Even what happened to mom..." Kazuya spoke to himself while he fished out his headphones and plugged them into his armcomp. This was after all going to be a long journey.

END OF CHAPTER VI

_A/N: Okay there's absolutely no excuse for leaving this fanfic alone for this long. So all I will say is that I'm very, very, very sorry for not updating and assuming that I get at least a few new reviews for this chapter (your praise… or at least acknowledgement is what keeps me fulfilled). I will keep going._

_Once again this fight was heavily based on my own battle in game which was difficult to make interesting (seriously, how many buff, de-buffs was he going to use?) And the emotional intensity of this chapter was tough to articulate. I hope readers will be able to grasp the kind of emotional trauma that Kazuya was undergoing without it seeming too over reactionary. Even if it was a little I suppose that's okay. For some reason writing this chapter I was reminded of Highschool of the Dead (if you haven't seen it… don't bother, it's just okay… unless you lots of shameless T & A and a ton of gore)._

_The bath scene was something of an omage/"tribute" to all of the absurdly unnecessary group bath scenes that pepper too many anime these days. Only this time it's with GUYS! Instead of sexy schoolgirls (for a change). I wanted to go into further more explicit detail but didn't want to turn off too many readers. In any rate if it came across as a tad homoerotic…. That was intentional and purely for laughs/titillation/take your pick._

**Takeshi: **Drake…. Dude…. We need to have a talk.

**Kazuya: **Yeah this is getting out of hand.

**Drake: **What? What's the problem?

**Takeshi: **Seriously? A group bath scene? With molestation and gay jokes? Really? Was that what this game was missing?

**Kazuya: **And the gore? Was it really necessary to describe it like that? What is wrong with you?

**Yuji: **Oh cut him some slack! He's probably just trying to justify that "M" rating.

**Kazuya: **And that makes it okay why…..?

**Yuji: **Actually…. Good point! Seriously Drake! What kind of sick fuck are you?

**Drake: **…sorry everyone.


	8. The Death of Reason

**Chapter VII: The Death of Reason**

_A/N I do not own any of the characters or concepts regarding Shin Megami Tensei, this is a fan work and is non-profit._

The three moved at a fast pace down the demon scarred streets of Kichijoji. The light became a scarcity that served as a double edged sword. The illumination gave them a beacon of safety, but also served as a spotlight on their location. They were about to turn a corner when Kazuya stopped in his tracks and waved his arm in the boys way. Turning his head he stared over at the two roads before him. One continued south while the other turned east, he remembered the Kaifuku shrine and what they had told him about indiscriminate aid.

"We should keep going south, there's a place I want to visit." Kazuya ordered.

"Alright." Takeshi shrugged his shoulders.

"Wait! Can we really afford a detour at this point?" Yuji raised his objection with a startled energy. Kazuya simply nodded his head gently before turning his head.

"It won't be long; I have some respects to pay…" Kazuya informed the boys with a hurried tone. He wasn't excited about the teasing he would receive about having admitted to what seemed to be a measure of piety to some folk religion of the area. That wasn't of course the case, but when it came to finding reasons to poke fun at someone, the truth rarely made a difference.

"What you mean like a shrine?" Takeshi raised an eyebrow at the bizarre conclusion he had just reached. He folded his arms and recalled what he could about Kazuya, thinking of how out of character this seemed, along with a gauge of how much a waste of time this venture would prove to be.

"Of sorts…" Kazuya remained vague, hoping the subject would be quickly forgotten.

"Sounds good to me, I always pray at the local shrine before beginning some great task. The gods help would be extra valuable what with demons on the loose." Yuji grinned in agreement his complete change in attitude prompting a sigh from the other boys. Kazuya placed his face in his palm and tried to hide from the condescending sneer that seemed to be forming on Takeshi's face.

"So we're about to pray to the gods that we don't get killed by demons, despite using the same magic that they do, and even bargaining with them so that they fight alongside us. Never mind the fact that these demons are attacking us in the first place and I haven't seen any sign that the gods even give a damn. So why should we get down on our knees and beg them to save us exactly? Face it, the gods either don't care, or hate us. Either way I don't give a shit." Takeshi's rant caused Yuji to become noticeably agitated and even tempted to grab him by the collar of his shirt.

"I know I know…" Kazuya muttered in grim regret that he had said anything about where he was going. While the guys had silently agreed to follow him, he was wishing he hadn't opened a can of worms that would lead only to arguing and fighting amongst each other.

"You know, it's at times like this where you'd think people like you would wake up at take religion at little more seriously. Look, I understand not seeing the point in donating to shrines and praying when things are peaceful and normal. But when the forces of hell are clawing at our throats I think you should recognize that priorities have changed. And when you think about it, maybe it's because people around here are so secular that demons attacked us in the first place!" Yuji retorted with a passion that seemed to get right under Takeshi's skin. His face became beet red with embarrassment and rage forcing him to glare at Yuji with his teeth bared.

"Are you seriously blaming people like me for all this? That just because I don't waste my time whacking off some higher power that we deserve what's happening right now? That if instead of being realistic, I should just trust that a god that hasn't come through for me ever before, will save me if ONLY I degrade myself for his glory!" Takeshi yelled at Yuji with an unparalleled level of distress that caused Yuji to feel rather unfairly vilified by this conversation. He had already surmised that Takeshi had a very sensitive psyche but had not thought him to be this bitter and enraged when provoked. Despite this he was compelled to defend himself.

"This isn't just about you Takeshi; the gods aren't going to just fix all your problems for you. Even if you were a devout and pious individual, you have to be proactive and help yourself and the gods will lend you their strength. If that is the way you view religion then no wonder you hate it so much." Yuji nodded his head in confidence that he had made his case well. Takeshi was about to yell back when he was interrupted by Kazuya's authoritative voice.

"SHUT IT! BOTH OF YOU!" Kazuya roared at both boys his face staring them down like a disgruntled teacher. Yuji & Takeshi winced in response and bowed at one and another and shook each other's hand. They whispered silent apologies before turning away reminding themselves to not get Kazuya mad. The group's de-facto leader sighed and without turning his head addressed the boys.

"Of all the times when we can afford to not work together, this is not one of them. Things like religion, while relevant for the time being, is not worth killing our allies over, especially when we depend on one and another to keep us all safe. So please, leave your theological views by the wayside for now and just respect our different viewpoints until we're comfortable and relaxed enough to discuss these things with maturity, alright!" Kazuya groaned under his breath and rubbed his forehead.

"Right…" sighed Takeshi.

"Of course…" replied Yuji in kind.

"Bowwow!" Pascal barked in support of Kazuya.

The boys eventually made it to the Kaifuku shrine after encountering a few demons and the odd possessed human. Pascal proved himself to be a brave and loyal companion despite his inability to do much damage to the demonic hordes. Even when he got cut, bruised and beaten he shrugged off the pain and defended his master with everything he had.

The battles had taken their toll on the party and by the time they entered the shrines doors they were all injured and drained of magic.

"To those who hurt or suffer we extend the hand of relief. What business do you have in the healer's dojo?" The shrine's priest welcomed the group with a warm smile and some pillows to sit on. Kazuya recognized the man from earlier and gave him a modest grin in return.

"Thank you, I'm not sure if you remember me but I was here a day or two ago." Kazuya asked bashfully, he didn't want to come across as arrogant to someone who he had barley spoken to. The priest simply chuckled and walked over to the boy.

"Of course I do young man. And I'm thankful that you are still alright considering that the demonic presence has only grown in the time since we last met. Come, you boys look tired and hurt. I'll prepare you some tea and beds for the night. I wouldn't want you to see you traveling in the darkness like this." The priest extended his hand in relief just as he had claimed earlier. His overt kindness touched the boys' hearts who accepted his offer without hesitation. The man led the boys into a back hall where they could see a small kitchen, meeting room and assorted living quarters. There they could see a few other members of the shrine busy at work in cooking, cleaning and preparing first aid kits and safety guides. Eventually they entered a small room where three bedspreads were laid out on the ground.

"Unfortunately we don't any quarters where we can keep your dog for the night. But we know someone who can." The priest added with a silent apology as the boys took their cups of tea and examined their beds for the night.

"You've already done so much for us I can't bring myself to be upset. But where is this person who can look after Pascal?" Yuji replied while Kazuya & Takeshi sipped their tea.

"He's a well…. Rather odd fellow I admit, but he's very forthright in his intentions and like us is not one to judge. You can find him just outside our shrine and in the other complex in the building." The priest's response indicated that he was hiding something but he had been too polite to the boys for them to suspect him of malice. Kazuya rubbed Pascal's head affectionately and headed for the door.

"Alright then, we'll drop Pascal off over there for the night then return here to sleep. We may not stay long so I'll say this now in case we never meet again." Kazuya turned and faced the priest and extended his hand.

"Sir, I have never been a religious man, never have and never will. But you're shrine has given me hope for the heart of humanity and I only wish you the best in your endeavors. And while I won't be here to join you, I want you to know that I, Kazuya Akanaka will keep your spirit of unconditional altruism alive with me." Kazuya then shook the man's hand that shook back with a sense of pride filling his heart. While his patience and non judgmental attitude had been forged amidst a life filled with bigotry, hatred, ignorance and self-righteous zealotry, he was glad to see his values passed along to a younger soul who didn't have to experience what he did.

The boys & Pascal left the shrine with hurried steps, Yuji & Takeshi gossiping to each other about Kazuya's latest speech in whisper.

"Welcome to the Jakyou Mansion, where demons come together." Announced a old man in a large blue robe and cap. Surrounding him was a rather twisted looking chapel that was surrounded by a series of rather phallic pillars with numerous pipes and wires protruding from them and plugged into the floor. The whole room was lit with a very dark blue tone that felt like it was only visible because their eyes had adjusted to the darkness.

"Weird…" Takeshi remarked quietly as he put his left hand behind his head in curious examination of the architecture. Yuji awkwardly nodded in agreement and kept himself from touching anything in the room.

"Uh, Hi. My name is Kazuya, Kazuya Akanaka, sorry to disappoint. But I was told that you had a place for my dog Pascal here?" Kazuya introduced himself to the strange man who simply stroked his long white beard in response.

"A dog hmmm? Well I may have some use for him. Let me give him a look." The peculiar old gentlemen shuffled over to Pascal and bent down to stare the dog square in the eyes. Pascal simply stood by panting obliviously while the man examined the canine's teeth, his coat, his tail, feet & paws etc.

"Anything interest you sir?" Kazuya inquired with folded arms and skeptical eyes. He was only hoping to find out whether the man had a place to keep Pascal for the night, not whether there was anything wrong with him.

"No, nothing of interest appears to be seen, though I am surprised that you were able to bring him this way, animals are said to be able to sense the paranormal much faster than humans and often runaway at first chance." The man noted.

"Perhaps a normal dog would. But Pascal here has been nothing but loyal and brave against the demons. He's even fought against them on a few occasions." Kazuya boasted while forcing himself to think about how it must have felt for Pascal to defend his mother from that demon only to be left barely alive. Takeshi turned his attention from the bizarre scenery and chimed in, in support of Pascal.

"Yeah! Pascal's one of those dogs who really stick to their guns. Against all odds he's still kicking ass." Takeshi's kind words prompted a cheery bark from Pascal who seemed to be enjoying the attention. The old man once again stroked his beard and looked at Pascal once again looking at the dog's wide friendly eyes.

"Well, if what you say is true then perhaps I may have a place for your dog after all. Tell me son, do you have any demons under your command?" The man asked Kazuya in a manner far more casual than one would have expected. Suddenly feeling rather suspicious of the man Kazuya gripped his armcomp and bent and separated his legs. The others followed suite adopting defensive stances while keeping their eyes on the man.

"H-how did you know I was a Devil Summoner?" Kazuya asked the man; all the while trying to hide is surprise. The old man grinned in response and clasped his hands together.

"I had a feeling let's just say. Now if you can, please summon a demon for me. I have a theory in mind that, if true, could make your canine friend here strong enough to battle any demon you may come across." The old man's grin grew on his face to a point where it became almost sinister in size, yet despite that, there was no measure of deceit in his face, only a rather morbid sense of curiosity.

"Should we trust him?" Yuji whispered over to Kazuya.

"The priest said he was honest, and his promise is quite intriguing. I guess we have no choice but to comply and keep an eye on him." Kazuya whispered back.

"Well?" The man stomped his right foot in anticipation.

"Alright, alright! Summoning, Knocker!" Kazuya yelled out while his fingers blazed across the keypad of his armcomp. A small summoning circle appeared on the floor and then as a flash of light filled the room Kazuya's Knocker ally appeared in the center of the dissipating circle.

"Hiya boss!" the Knocker announced its presence with a familiar level of enthusiasm. The old man nodded in approval of the demon and turned around, heading into a larger part of the chapel.

"Very well, everyone follow me. I have an experiment to run." The man commanded in all seriousness while the boys and their companions hurried along.

It wasn't too long until they found themselves in a large room decorated with a similar style. In the center of the room was a large red circle marked with a gold rimmed Star of David. Connected from it were six thick brown tubes that were placed in pairs in the left, right and bottom of the circle. In the very front stood two large glass tubes that were placed in south-east and south-west in reference to the circle. Out of them both were a series of tangled red and blue wires that protruded from the top and extended to the ceiling. Directly behind the circle lay a peculiar looking machine with pyramid like steps attached to its sides. The wires from the glass tubes seem to go through the ceiling and fed back to the machine from the top. At its sides was a pair of red banners that stood on cross stands which were emblazed with also with the Star of David.

"Ah this shall be fascinating! Dog! Enter the left tube! Demon! Enter the right!" The man commanded Pascal and the Knocker with dramatic sweeps of his arms to the respective tubes. They both complied with the glass doors opening and closing with perfect timing.

"Hey! Hold on! What are you doing to Pascal! Tell me what's going on first!" Kazuya yelled as he pulled out his sword. The man rushed over to the console and simply turned his head, his face scowling at the boy.

"Silence yourself boy! Like I said, I have an experiment to run and I won't let anyone get in my way of progress!" The man, now in full mad scientist mode gleefully played with the console while the boys prepared their weapons and waited for the moment to charge.

"Bastard!" Takeshi growled as he aimed his gun at the man's head and pulled the trigger. The bullets tore through the air but fell motionless to the ground before coming in contact with the man.

"Shit." Takeshi cursed as he felt his confidence his abilities wane once again.

"And now we're ready! Begin the fusion!" The man yelled out with an insane laughter as one after the other water flooded the tubes, causing both Pascal and the Knocker to disappear with the water.

"NOOOOOOOOO!" Kazuya ran over to Pascal's tube and began to bang his fists against the glass. His face locked up in frustration as realized that his best friend had just disappeared due to his carelessness. The circle in the middle of the room began flashing with light until it became illuminated entirely. Then after a half of second of nothing a beam of light shot out from the Star of David symbol and as it fell, a new figure stood in the center of the circle.

Kazuya turned his tear filled eyes and stared awe struck when he looked at the figure before him. It was a majestic beast of legend. The white-mane dog-beast said to guard the gates of hell. It's scorpion like tail wiped about and it's long lean legs scrapped at the ground. Only the hysterical laughter of the old man broke atmosphere that captivated the boys.

"It worked! It worked! It actually worked! Behold!" The old man raised his arms and spread them out in a dramatic gesture. It was as if he had completely taken on the mantle of a mad scientist. Takeshi half-expected him to start exclaiming "It's alive!"

"Pascal…" Kazuya uttered gently his lips not moving from their exasperated expression.

"I am the Majuu Cerberus. I am at your command." Cerberus's voice boomed throughout the chapel, it was deep and authoritative, a voice befitting a mythical beast. He leapt from the circle to Kazuya. He stared at his master's face judging the expression he held. After a brief pause he nodded his head and disappeared in a circle that appeared below him. Kazuya checked his demon summoning program and saw Cerberus listed under his control.

"What… just happened?" He asked the old man his rage and sorrow now supplanted by curiosity and intrigue. The old man returned from the steps at leisurely pace holding his hands behind his back as he walked.

"Your pet dog and your demon ally have fused together using my machine to create the beast Cerberus of the Majuu clan. I admit, I had never fused a demon with an animal before but I wasn't going to let such an opportune moment pass." The smile he flashed at the boys seemed far too wide to be human. It tugged at the corners of his cheeks as if it was trying to escape his face.

"T-that's your answer? That raises so many other questions I don't know where to begin, such as, who are you? Why are you doing this? How do you do this? Why did that priest recommend I come here?" Kazuya clutched the sides of his head and pulled at his hair in frustration. His natural curiosity meant that he wasn't satisfied with not knowing how all of this functioned.

"Such questions would take a lifetime to answer young man. And that's assuming I was to tell you. No our methods and techniques are not meant to be understood by the masses. Even to Devil Summoners like you." The old man sternly informed Kazuya who swallowed his anger bitterly for the sake of his sanity.

"Fine."

"Very well, now I expect that you have other business to attend to as do I. Now I suggest you become acquainted with your new friend and leave me to my rest." The old man turned his back and briskly walked through a small passage in the room. This was followed by a loud "thud" and the sound of a lock closing.

"I understand this may be difficult to believe, but the memories of your dog "Pascal" are within me. So he is not really gone in a sense." Cerberus tried to explain to Kazuya who was still reeling over the idea that Pascal had become a demon. His face remained downcast for a moment until a smile made its way there and he placed a hand on Cerberus petting him gently.

"It's alright. I know you're in there Pascal." Kazuya whispered.

The boys agreed to send Cerberus to Kazuya's comp and head back to the shrine for some sleep. By the time they arrived everyone had gone to sleep (including two of the priests who were supposed to be keeping watch.) They entered their bedspreads and lay down for the night.

A new day arrived as with an uncharacteristic darkness looming amongst the city. The colours of the environment seemed washed out and marked with shades of grey. Demon attacks became scarcer in the daylight with the sun's light exposing their handiwork to the few people still walking in the streets. The boys awoke to find the shrine's population still asleep from the long night before. They gathered their things in relative silence and left some money in a donations box in the entrance. Kazuya still had questions to ask about how the priest knew about that old man but he was prepared to let them pass for the sake of a quick exit.

By 8:00 am the boys had left the park and we're back in the streets of Kichijoji. They had discussed where they were heading next and forced open their memories for any clues. Kazuya, after some serious reminiscing remembered hearing about some strange experimental technology being worked on in the Echo Building next to the Hospital. Checking the Pass Card they confirmed that the English written on it translated as such.

"I guess this is the place." Said Takeshi vocalizing the conclusion they had all come to. It was a fairly non-descript office building with nothing really notable about its design, just another cookie-cutter part of the modern corporate world.

"Well here it goes." Kazuya swiped the card and the door opened without any further resistance. The ease of the transaction sent Kazuya's nerves to the foreground. Quickly pocketing the card he walked into the building and gave it a quick look.

"That was easy." Takeshi commented while pulling out his gun and dramatically pointing it wherever he looked.

"We should stay on guard." Kazuya added in a low voice, still not trusting the apparent lack of demonic or human presence.

"Right" Both Yuji & Takeshi said in agreement. Yuji drew his sword and motioned to his wrist indicating something to Kazuya. Kazuya watched the gesture then nodded and activated his Demon Summoning Program and summoned his latest acquisition Cerberus.

Despite the boys careful efforts it was not long until they were discovered by a man in a lab coat who quickly ditched his disguise and turned into a winged gremlin who lunged at the party with feral rage. Cerberus charged in front of his master and blocked the attack but before he could strike back Kazuya threw his arm out to block his path.

"Stop, we should try talking with it first. Perhaps we can get some information." Kazuya's confident voice held back his teammates who allowed him to walk in front of the creature. He check his COMP to make sure the translation program was functioning and when he was confident that it was, he spoke up.

"Hold on! Perhaps we can talk first." He tried using a stern tone with the demon. The Gremlin did not attack back immediately which was a good sign. Instead in simply stared oddly at Kazuya as if he was trying to understand what had just been said. A brief pause followed with Kazuya standing still waiting for a reaction.

"GRAAAH!" The demon snarled at it charged at Kazuya it's eyes the colour of blood and its fangs and claws cracking and shaking with a lust for violence. And then, in a moment, the demon was gone. Kazuya's sword pierced its chest, Takeshi's gun fired directly and its head and Yuji's blade cut the wings from its back.

"I don't understand." Kazuya admitted while sheathing his sword.

"Why didn't the demon listen to me? It didn't even say anything back before attacking?" He looked over at his teammates who between Takeshi and Yuji, answered with a shrug and a shaking of the head respectively.

"Dunno."

"Can't say."

"It was because of the moon."

"Huh?"

The three boys turned their attention to Cerberus who shook his mane and raised a paw directing the boys to a nearby window. The boys looked over at the window became shocked when they noticed something peculiar about the view.

"Hey, why is the moon so visible?" Takeshi asked noticing the clearly visible moon that hung in the morning sky large and distinctive despite all reason saying that it shouldn't be there.

"Once again, I can't say I know." Yuji added, equally ignorant as to why this peculiarity came across another point of interest.

"The moon shouldn't be full today. It was a quarter moon just last night." Kazuya pointed at the moon and the other boys nodded and gasped when they confirmed his observation.

"Demons are affected greatly by the phase of the moon and become particularly feral during a full one. In Makai, the moon moves through its phases very quickly, and it seems this trait has followed them into your world." Cerberus explained to the boys who turned away from the window and contemplated this knowledge.

"So many bizarre, unexplainable phenomena, it pains me to try and think about how this is possible." Kazuya rubbed his forehead, trying to sooth his poor logical mind that was just overloading with reasons as to why this was impossible.

"So don't. Save thinking for later, survival comes first." Takeshi loaded his gun and gave a cocky smirk. Yuji pumped his fist and smiled.

"Yeah don't worry about it for now Kazuya. Leave that stuff to whoever's in charge of this crazy world." Yuji joked extracting a small grin from Kazuya who sighed in response.

"Alright, let's keep moving." Kazuya motioned to the party and they followed behind him.

The trek through the building was filled with demons, all of which attacked the boys on sight. However by now, they had become used to dealing with enemies of this level and had devised a strategy. They stuck close together and traveled in a triangle like formation always watching out for demons. Cerberus proved to be a great ally to the team with his power surpassing any of their opponents by far. Still, despite their foes apparent weakness the boys found themselves never truly feeling safe. The constant threat of danger, even in a brightly lit, office building was eating at their sanity. When they weren't sneaking up on the demons in human form, they would appear, seemingly out of nowhere and assault the party in large numbers, sometimes even with multiple waves of enemies. The confusion this caused made the groups heavy firepower its own greatest threat, with their knee-jerk reactions occasionally harming (or very narrowly avoiding) each other.

The building had five floors, all of which the party explored for any information or items they could use. They were also able to recruit a Kobold to their team after some pricey negotiations. All the while they battled whatever came after them casting aside their fears and anxieties for the duration of combat. As they reached the top floor they started to recognize the building from their dreams earlier.

"This is the same place as before, we're close." Kazuya observed as they reached what they thought to be the hallway to the machine.

"Guess so." Yuji added as he moved with the party around a corner at would bring them to a stretch of hallway going north. However as they turned the corner, a cold voice sent brought all their weapons forth.

"You're going ahead, aren't you?" Yuriko addressed Kazuya with the voice of an angry mother who had just caught her son sneaking out of the house at night to meet up with the girl he likes at some party in the seedy part of town. Her eyes however had a look that went far beyond a mundane level of anger. Serpentine eyes glared at him freezing his body in place metaphorically speaking.

"What's she doing here?"

"Just back away, trust me." Yuji & Takeshi talked amongst themselves. Kazuya forced the look of surprise to disappear from his face and put on a mask of stern confidence.

"T-that's right! And I-I won't let you stop me Yuriko! I've lost too much to stop now." Kazuya declared his intentions while trying to mask his fear. Yuji & Takeshi backed away, not wanting to get involved while Cerberus slowly crept in between the two and growled at the woman.

The two met their gazes in an intense staring match. Cerberus & Yuriko glared for what seemed like a minute but was really just a few seconds. Eventually Yuriko sighed in defeat and let her arms fall to her sides.

"Alright, with your power, you'll be able to do anything you put your mind to, so you should be okay. But please be careful okay?" She moved aside and gently pet Cerberus on the head as she walked behind the boys.

"Hey wait!" Kazuya called out to her but she was already gone.

"That was certainly…. Odd." Takeshi commented still unsure if what he had just watched was real. Yuji shook his head.

"Either way, I'm glad she's gone. We should be on our way." Yuji suggested, he did not trust that woman at all. The look in her eyes when she was talking to Kazuya told him that she was far more than just an ordinary woman, even for the standards of one who was aware of the demons existence.

"Right" Kazuya uttered.

Cerberus kept looking over in the direction that Yuriko had left from. That pat on the head was not in any way friendly, it was a gesture that signified a mutual dislike for each other, coupled with a dash of condescension. Kazuya motioned to Cerberus, telling him to follow. The boys continued on their way and passed on their way.

The three boys entered a dark room where they were met with a rather bizarre sight. The room was rather small and rounded at the far end with steel grates and iron disks attached to the walls. In the center was a traditional Japanese doorframe with an oval shaped indent in the wall in the middle. The indent was marked with crimson red lines that outstretched from a central point like the legs of a spider. The object in the center was obstructed by a suspicious man conducting some sort of ceremony. The man was clad in a white lab coat that covered most of his back turned body. He appeared to be fiddling with some sort of machine. Behind him were two long haired people wearing shrine clothing and waving wooden sticks with three white ribbons tied at the top. They were both facing the man and sat crossed legged on the ground.

"This again…" Kazuya faceplamed at the familiar sight. Takeshi loaded his gun and Yuji readied his sword.

"My brethren! Come forth from the depths of the abyss!" The man in the center proclaimed in the same boisterous, melodramatic voice that he had used when they previously encountered him.

"Once again, I cannot allow this!" Kazuya growled in open hostility towards the man who turned around, suddenly alerted to the young boys presence. The man was clad in the sort of uniform one would expect from a scientist, rather than an occultist summoner. But it was clear that his motivation lay with the latter.

"Eh! So you're back eh?" The scientist adjusted his glasses and gave the boys a second glance.

"Ready for round two?" Takeshi pointed his gun at the scientist aiming for the head. However Kazuya moved his arm in between the two. Takeshi took the hint and lowered his weapon, sighing as he did.

"Before we fight, as we inevitably will, please, tell me what this place is. You know, from one scientist to another." Kazuya grinned at the scientist who laughed hysterically in response.

"Well when you put it nicely. I suppose I can enlighten you a bit." The scientist forced out while holding his chest, stifling his laughter between breaths. He calmed down and composed himself before taking a deep breath and puffing out his chest.

"This is the place where my brethren in the Abyss are to be summoned." He explained adopting the mannerisms of a university professor. Turning his back staring at console in front of him he started to mess with the computer. Seeing an opening Kazuya drew his sword while the man talked and motioned to the guys to prepare for a sneak attack. However the scientist's explanation suddenly changed topic without a pause.

"Therefore, I cannot allow it to be defiled by your blood!" The scientist turned around and then spoke out an incantation in an ancient language and suddenly there was a flash of light and the party was sent flying out of the room into the hallway behind them once again.

The boys awoke seconds later outside the room, with the scientist scowling deviously at them.

"Can't even be bothered to try something new..." Kazuya snarked while getting back on his feet.

"This shit again?" Takeshi groaned while recovering his bearings.

"I don't appreciate this cowardly tactic." Yuji remarked as he picked his sword back up and faced down his opponent.

"You won't get away this time. Those who stand in my way will be crushed!" The scientist laughed and then the party was face to face with a tall yellow demon clad in a ripped green cloak and a large striped collar than extended far behind his head. The figure was humanoid in shape with a bald head with only a circlet around it.

"We're prepared this time, stand and die!" Kazuya shouted and brandished his sword.

"Maha-zan." The cold voice of the demon served as the only warning to the oncoming gust of wind that cut at the party.

Kazuya was the first to strike back, cutting his sword against the demon's body to minor effect. Yuji followed up with his own slash of a blade. The demon shoved the boys away, but was hit by Takeshi's gunfire the moment the way was cleared.

"Tch.." The demon grunted shrugging off the pain as little more than a minor nuisance. Its eyes glowed as if preparing an attack. Cerberus saw its chance and charged and leapt at the demon. Cerberus's claws thrashed against the demon's body inflicting a notable mark on its flesh. The demon bashed Cerberus with the back of its right arm and with the left produced a large ball of fire in its palm that he threw at the party.

"AGH!" The boys reacted to the attack that exploded into a blaze of flames. The scorched team however recovered from the attack and repeated the same tactic, hoping for the best.

"Any tips O' Leader?" Takeshi looked over to Kazuya who checked his Demon Summoning Program's analyze function for help.

"Nothing, All I can get is a name, "Doman" that's all I have." Kazuya cursed his lack of knowledge of this particular demon. Doman looked down at the party with disgust marking its face. He remembered his previous encounter with this group and had no patience for their antics. Tapping into a reserve of power than none knew he had, he decied to finish this battle with a testament to the gap in power between demons and humans.

"Maha-agidyne" Doman chanted in a series of dark incantations as the blazing sight of a roaring flame appeared in both his hands. The demon's body began to glow with an overwhelming sense of strength, forcing the onlookers to stare in awe.

"So much…" Yuji gazed at the demon while silently casting a healing spell over himself. The light seemed to bind the party in place. Takeshi was the only one to break free.

"What's wrong with you guys! Stop staring and fight!" Takeshi growled and fired at Doman until he was out of bullets.

"Shit." Takeshi cursed his luck as he witnessed Doman complete his spell's casting. A huge wave of fire engulfed the party scorching the boys all over their bodies, and they were helpless to escape it. Kazuya fell to his knees screaming in pain, his body had become charred shadow of its former self. Yuji held his ground against the flame for as long as he could. Until his heels slipped on the ground, and he slammed against the floor banging his head. As he lay there his body became filled with smoke that crept through his nose and into his lungs. Takeshi charged against the wall and then the floor, all the while screaming his lungs black. He ripped off his jack and struggled to try and put out the fire, but failed to make any difference.

"Can't…..die…here." Takeshi grunted before taking a deep breath and charging at Doman. He reached to his belt and drew out his seldom used spiked rod and attempted to try and land one strike on the demon before his lungs collapsed on him. The smoke not only made it hard to breath, but made it almost impossible to see as well. And the intensity of the environment had taken its toll on his body.

Takeshi's efforts amounted to little more than a weak swipe that Doman easily blocked. He then dropkicked Takeshi from the chin fracturing his jaw severely. He wasn't able to make a sound as he collapsed on the floor. Doman gazed through the smoke and fire and examined the fresh corpses on the ground. If he could, he would have grinned at himself, proud of the job he had done taking care of the intruders. Except… there was something not right with this scene. Something that did not fit into the scene of his victory against an incompetent Devil Summoner and his magically gifted friends.

There wasn't supposed to be a figure, a beastly visage prowling through the flames, its eyes cutting through the smoke and staring directly at the victor. There should not have been a massive demon hound leaping through the air, preparing to unleash a world of suffering to a creature without a concept of loyalty and honor. This was impossible according to any rules that existed about the world; logic dictated that it could not occur.

But just as the existence of demons in the mortal realm broke the laws of reality, the existence of this being broke the laws of devil-summoning.

"!"

END OF CHAPTER VII

_A/N: I'm out of excuses for my slacking off, so I won't waste your time with any for a change. Let's hope my spark of inspiration lasts long enough to finish a chapter without week-long droughts in between._

_As you can see, I am once again altering the abilities of the demons in question for the sake of drama and adding new scenes and characters based on what one does in game. Ascribing reasonable motivations and explanations for a lot of the arbitrary decisions one is forced to make in the game is tough, and forcing the plot to move along with the right amount of character development and dialogue is rather difficult to balance. There's so much I want to do with this story but I'm still so far from where I want to go. Shin Megami Tensei is a not a happy tale, and the amount of bloodshed, violence, and psychological trauma and abuse that the cast is in for is going to be something to behold. I want people to see this game the way I see it, what I saw as I spent 100+ hours navigating menus, batting wave after wave of demon hordes and trudging through endless mazes of enemies all to protect a world that seems barley alive to begin with._

**Kazuya: **Sheesh! Do you ever think that maybe they would be better off just playing the game then?

**Yuji: **Right, why bother reading some terribly written story by some talentless hack of a writer that is basically takes only the skeleton of the game's story and shovels a bunch of garbage on top?

**Takeshi:** Don't forget the inconsistent updating schedule, the confusing change in perspective and tense that is characteristic of a work that isn't properly revised and reviewed before submission.

**Kazuya: **Oh! And we can't forget the pathetic attempts at "edgy" and "gory" writing that takes the mature, sophisticated feel of the games combat and replaces it with the kind of work that even a 14 year old slasher junkie would call "juvenile".

**Takeshi: **And to top it all off, we call you on this shit every chapter and yet you make no effort to change.

**Yuji: **Maybe you don't get this Drake, but its one thing to accept criticism with a nod and a smile. It's ANOTHER thing to actually DO something about it.

**Kazuya: **Kinda rude huh? Pretending to listen to what we say but then ignoring us even after all we go through for him?

**Yuji & Takeshi: **YEAH!

**Drake: **… *cries in a corner*

**Kazuya: **Oh grow up emo boy! It's your fault for posting this shit in the first place!

**Drake: **Yeah…. You're right. I'll….. I try… to do better…. Sorry.


	9. Atom & Evil

**Chapter VIII: Atom & Evil**

_A/N I do not own any of the characters or concepts regarding Shin Megami Tensei, this is a fan work and is non-profit._

Cerberus leapt out from the darkness and straight at Doman with the ferocity of a lion defending its pride. With a swipe of its mighty claws the beast tore through the demon's thick skin and scraped out whatever it could. Doman's expression did not change however, even as it clutched the wound with its left hand and swatted the beast away with its right.

"Diarama" Doman chanted causing the wound in its chest to heal over. From that he clasped both hands together in a prayer-like gesture.

"Agilao" Flames erupted from his hands and darted towards Cerberus who batted them while charging once again at Doman. The demon saw the incoming beast and prepared his fists to once again force Cerberus to halt. Cerberus refused to do so and instead grabbed Doman's right fist with his paw and forced it towards the ground. Once off balance he rammed his head against the demon's chest and pounced on his body using his limbs to pin him in place.

"GRRRRHH!" Cerberus snarled at his opponent and flashed his fangs at Doman's indifferent stare. Doman tried to force the beast off him but failed to even nudge Cerberus from his position. Digging his claws into the demon's body Cerberus placed his face right in front of his foe, looking one last time, for some signs of remorse. When he found none he proceeded to tear into the demon's body like a piece of meat. No sounds of pain could be heard, even as Cerberus tore the demon's head off his body, ripped and tore through layer after layer of hardened skin only to rip out whatever insides he could find.

After what seemed to be but a just a few minutes, the demon's body was nowhere to be found. Its link to this realm severed. However the damage it had inflicted remained. Cerberus turned around to see his master and his allies lying comatose on the ground. In a hurry he sped to Kazuya's side where he leaned down to check for a heartbeat. What he found was weak but passable. Taking parts of the boys' cloths in his teeth, he dragged them to safety, away from the smoke. Once they were down he shut his eyes and concentrated.

"Samarecarm" He uttered as a magical circle appeared around him and his master. A white light shined down on Kazuya and enveloped his body healing his wounds and removing smoke from his lungs as it did.

"Ughhhh…" Kazuya groaned as he bent his back and forced himself upright. He rubbed his eyes and tried to brush the soot off his clothes. Cerberus nodded and proceeded to do the same thing to Yuji and Takeshi who both awoke in similar manners.

"What's going on?" Takeshi mumbled as he adjusted his glasses and inspected his surroundings.

"The battle… it's over?" Yuji asked as he looked around for some lingering sign of Doman's presence. Finding none he turned over to Kazuya who could be seen petting Cerberus affectionately.

"My guess is that Pas- no, Cerberus took care of him for us, and we can probably thank him for saving our lives from the smoke and flames as well." He mouthed a word of thanks to the beast and let himself become captivated by its majesty.

"Really? That's incredible!" Takeshi lit a cigarette with his left hand and punched the air with his right. The other boys sighed inwardly at the irony of Takeshi smoking after nearly dying from smoke inhalation.

"Is that so…" Yuji contemplated as he grabbed his sword off the ground and sheathed the blade, resisting the urge to wipe the blood off of it. Yuji had been brought up with very strict values of honor and discipline and was taught that to have someone save your life was a very important act. While he had not ever heard whether those same principals applied to non-humans, it seemed to be an irrelevant detail for now. Turning towards Cerberus Yuji dramatically fell to one knee and lowered his head before the beast.

"Huh? Yuji, what're you doing?" Takeshi asked finding the whole gesture kind of strange. Kazuya folded his arms and smirked at the behavior of his ally, glad that his best friend was getting the respect he always felt he deserved.

"I am in your dept Cerberus sir, please, continue to look after me." Yuji thanked Cerberus earnestly before returning to his feet so he could move over to pet the demon's fur.

"I was only doing my duty." Cerberus accepted Yuji's thanks with a sense of gratification feeding his sense of pride. From his perspective these boys were his responsibility to protect being the powerful, guardian beast that he was.

"Of course you were Cerberus, of course." Kazuya remarked before drawing his attention back to their current objective.

"Getting back on track, I suppose we can assume that with that demon defeated that those guys back there have either ran away, or are pacified as a threat." Kazuya summed up the situation with the same analytical sense of detail that the boys had come to expect.

"Right, so next stop would be that where we left off right?" Takeshi chimed in after adjusting his glasses for the umpteenth time.

"Can't think of anything else they could throw at us worse than that last demon, so I suppose we've got nothing to lose." Yuji considered after trying to piece together what happened to him against that last demon. Cerberus nodded his head in agreement and turned to his master as if awaiting command.

"Alright, on we go!" Kazuya made the announcement and the party headed back through the halls to the scene of their last battle.

Since there wasn't anything actually flammable in the hall that they had fought in, the magical fire had died out leaving only a light smoke and loads of ash on the ground. However smears of blood still left their streaks' on the floor tiles. The boys tried to avoid looking at them and instead stared straight ahead as they entered the room where the strange device was located.

What they found was that the room was completely deserted. The old doorframes had disappeared as well, and they could now see what lay in the center. It was a computer terminal sitting on a podium. It appeared to be rather modern in its design but was rather small when compared to most home PCs.

"This…. Is the teleporter?" Takeshi asked in disbelief, slightly disappointed by the mundane look of the device.

"I, guess?" Yuji shrugged deciding to forgo judgment in favor of simply letting the party's more technologically literate members discuss the matter. Kazuya glanced over at his armcomp and then at the teleporter, looking for similarities in their style of design. He figured that if this was indeed the genuine article than it would probably be reminiscent of his father's invention.

"It's certainly a lot more inconspicuous looking if you ignore the design of the room around it. Perhaps I should tes-" Kazuya's musing was cut off by a loud snarling noise that was coming from around his chest.

"Grrrrrr…." Cerberus's growl forced the boys to take attention. He started to paw at the floor and flex his jaw muscles. An uncontrollable feeling of primal rage and power was overtaking the beast and forcing his greater intellect to submit to its instinctive desire to destroy.

"Cerberus? What's wrong?" Kazuya's face lost its cool demeanor and became a picture of innocent concern for his demonic guardian's mental state. He was about to lean down to pet him but retracted his hand when Cerberus snarled and raised its right paw to bat his arm away.

"This… is bad…" Takeshi backed away from the beast and reached his quivering hand into his jacket to pull out his gun. He was afraid that this might happen, anytime he took a liking to something boy, girl, animal or whatever, it tended to get angry at him and become violent. This line of thinking led Takeshi to the conclusion that he was to blame for this outcome, but quickly realized that such he had made a critical error in his thinking.

Sighing, Takeshi reminded himself that Cerberus was Kazuya's friend not his, and that if anyone was impact that beast on such a level it was probably it's master, not some guy it's known for less than a day or two.

"Let me try this." Yuji closed his eyes and focused on casting a healing spell on Cerberus to little change other than the healing of a few cuts and scratches on his beast's body. Cerberus continued to glare at the computer terminal growling and snarling at increasing frequency and volume. In an act of desperation Kazuya checked his armcomp and attempted to scan Cerberus for any information he could use.

"Damnit! Nothing." He cursed his inability to calm down his demon ally before realizing he could simply dismiss him.

"Wait! I'll try to just…" Kazuya raised his vision from his armcomp to the computer terminal just in time to see Cerberus leap at the machine like a tiger attacking its prey.

"GRRRRRRRRRRAAAAHHH!" The demon beast roared, filling the entire room with echoes of its voice.

It was only a manner of seconds; Cerberus attacked the computer only to become enveloped in bolts of lightning that froze him in place. Before anyone could come to terms with what was happening Cerberus disappeared entirely into thin air as if nothing had happened.

The three boys were unable to hide their shocked expressions as they watched their most powerful ally leave them just shortly after saving their lives. Only the echoing noise of the beasts' last cry served as proof that he had ever existed. And once that faded tears began falling uncontrollably down Kazuya's face.

"Ah...Ahhhh...Ugh..." Kazuya fell to his knees and simply stared at the spot that his best friend once occupied and tried to tell himself what he had just seen was not the death of the last person he had ever loved. He remembered how he felt when he realized his mother was dead, how he was so struck with despair that he couldn't even bring himself to realize his father was also gone, and when combined with the apparent death of his friend and buddy Pascal, it was just too much to take. The other boys watched silently, letting their leader grieve for his loss. They were prepared to wait a few minutes for him to let it all out, which is why they were surprised when he got back on his feet and checked his armcomp.

"Cerberus is no longer listed under the demons I control, so like the Weredog, for all I know, he's dead." Kazuya concluded all the while forcing himself to keep from sobbing loudly in front of his allies. Even with tears still staining his eyes red he assumed the mantle of the cold, tactician, ready to count his loses and move on. The effect this left Yuji and Takeshi feeling rather scared of his sudden change in attitude.

"Kazuya, if you want to let it out you can, there's no shame in grieving for a lost friend." Yuji tried to reassure Kazuya who tensed up at the suggestion. Shaking his head and quickly brushing the tears from his face Kazuya turned and scowled at the boys.

"We don't have time to waste crying over the causalities of war. Pascal is simply M.I.A, that's all. We need to push forward or more people will suffer." Kazuya made clear his intentions and then moved to examine the computer terminal.

"R-right… okay." Yuji backed off and turned over to Takeshi who simply shrugged his shoulders in response. While they could both tell what Kazuya was trying to do was unhealthy, neither one felt right in trying to force him to deal with his emotions when he had so much else to worry about. As much as they hated to admit it, they needed him to be the cool, rational head that kept the three united. Without his leadership and knowledge they would all be doomed to squabble and fight until they were killed.

"This is the Echo COMP transmission terminal." Kazuya read the information off the screen.

"Those with valid COMPs may access at their leisure."

"Do you suppose the computer on your arm is compatible?" Takeshi suggested.

"If my observations are correct…" Kazuya accessed his armcomp and performed a compatibility check with the terminal. The whole procedure took a few minutes which were passed in total silence save only the tapping of Kazuya's fingers on the respective keyboards. Once he had established the necessary connection Kazuya nodded and turned to face his allies once again.

"Well?"

"I've made the connection. We can use this terminal to teleport us to another location simply labeled as LAB."

"Are you sure that's safe? After all, there are tons of things that could go wrong." Yuji suggested in caution. Kazuya shook his head.

"We don't have much of a choice, and besides we've come this far. I'd like to see if this actually works, don't you?" He smirked a bit as if proposing a test to Yuji's masculinity. The decoded message reached Yuji loud and clear and he instinctively nodded in agreement.

"Alright, if this is what it takes to find Yuka, then let's go!" Yuji shouted with burning passion while Takeshi discarded his cigarette and grinned.

"Let's give this puppy a spin." He commented imitating a bad action movie star like one-liner, complete with a confident strutting over to the terminal. With all three in agreement Kazuya finalized their decision and activated the teleporter.

The process didn't take very long and the boys barely felt a thing before they were enveloped in bolts of lightning that temporarily left them unconscious. When they recovered they surveyed their surroundings only to find them rather familiar.

"The hell? We're back where we started!" Takeshi shouted

"Not necessarily." Kazuya replied. He examined his armcomp for a few seconds. "It appears that all of these terminals are designed to look identical to one another. My mapping function indicates we have indeed travelled through time and space." He closed his armcomp and sighed. He had hoped to find Cerberus through the teleporter, but there was no indication that he was anywhere around them.

"Any sign of that scientist/summoner?" Yuji inquired. Kazuya checked the terminal monitor and shook his head.

"None that I can find, all it says here is your standard thank you message." He sighed and rubbed his forehead while turning to exit the room.

"I'd imagine this place is probably infested with demons as well, so be on guard guys. We don't have Cerberus with us anymore to bail us out." Kazuya's snarky attitude came as a bit of relief to the other boys who saw this as a sign that, despite the hardships he was feeling okay. However neither quite realized how off such an analysis was from the truth.

"Got it." Takeshi readied his gun.

"Understood." Yuji drew his sword.

"H-help…" The weak voice of a man met the boys just after leaving the terminal room.

"Let's go." Kazuya and the others turned the corner and entered the room adjacent to theirs and were faced with a twisted humanoid creature in a white lab dress. He sitting on a swivel chair in a small room packed with computers and documents lain about everywhere. His body was completely hairless and he looked starved to the bone. His skin was that of a bruised peach that seemed very unhealthy.

"…Wow, I'm surprised you were able to make it in here." The man noted with forced breath. He struggled to smile but was unable to do so before relaxing his jaw, leaving in dangling in a perpetual frown. Kazuya placed one hand on the handle of his sword and stared the man down.

"…" Silence passed between the two as Kazuya examined the man from head to toe. He was looking for some sign of demonic nature or places where he could conceal a weapon. The man however found himself terrified of the boy's icy gaze and began thinking of ways to make conversation.

"So… what on earth is going on in the outside world?" He asked hoping to hear about the results of his labor and how he was to be praised for his work.

"Explain yourself." He threatened with his face making clear that he did not trust this man one bit. The man shook in fear and nodded his head in compliance before thinking of how to explain himself.

"I've been working on our secret Terminal System project. I had to transmit all the data from my experiments over the computer to the main center from here."

"Terminal System project? Did you happen to hear from my father? Saito Akanaka?" Kazuya blurted down causing the man to cower even more.

"N-no. I never had direct communication with the project leaders." He explained with overwhelming honesty in his expression. Kazuya sighed and decided to drop the issue.

"Never mind, go on." He insisted.

"Anyway, three or four days ago, we were attacked by a mob of demons. Everyone was either killed or turned into zombies." The researcher was about to continue his explanation until a loud clomping noise was heard echoing from the hall. Suddenly he collapsed to the floor and adopted the fetal position. Takeshi pointed his gun behind him but found nothing there.

"What's going on!" He glared over at the researcher who seemed like he was about to have a heart attack.

"…Hurry…,…Get out of here…" He whimpered before closing his eyes and hiding behind a desk. The boys took this as a sign that danger was coming so they left the room on the watch for any demons.

Just as they entered the hallway there were faced with an Orc demon standing in their path with a twisted grin adorning his grotesque pig face.

"Looks like we've got a newcomer! Welcome to earth, congrats on making it here!" The orc greeted the boys even going to shake their hands and pat them on the back as he talked.

"Err what?" Yuji vocalized his confusion with the greeting they had received. Kazuya & Takeshi exhibited similar reactions as well. Despite this the Orc continued his warm welcoming speech.

"Take it easy for a while. Get used to your new home. I'm sure you must be tired from your long trip from the abyss." The boys quickly figured out their predicament and decided to play along for now.

"Sounds great, plane shifting it seems really is as exhausting as everyone says. I think I'll take you up on your offer." Kazuya stretched out his arms and yawned while motioning with his hands for the other boys to follow him as he passed the Orc by.

"Just as I thought." The Orc agreed. As Kazuya walked by him he examined the boy closer and was impressed by the level of detail he used for his disguise. Something that he realized was true for his companions as well.

"I see you've successfully turned into humans…" He complimented them as Takeshi walked by in toe with the others. His curiosity peeked the Orc took a sniff of the boy and then came to a startling realization. Takeshi shuffled around with the inside of his coat as soon as he saw the Orc's expression change.

"Wait a minute, you ARE humans!" The Orc cried out its final words as just milliseconds after exclaiming this fact, his head was pounded with four bullets of led directly through his cranium sending his bloodied corpse against the wall.

"I was wondering when he'd figure it out." Takeshi blew the smoke from his gun and flashed a devious smile at his handiwork. Yuji frowned in disapproval and folded his arms.

"Takeshi, you shouldn't be attack your enemies off guard like that, especially when they were so friendly not a few seconds ago." Yuji leered at Takeshi who contorted his face in disbelief.

"A-are you serious!" Takeshi asked wondering how screwed up his ally's sense of honor went. Kazuya turned his head and prepared for the inevitable clash of ideals.

"Nah, I'm just kidding. That was awesome." Yuji gave a goofy smile relaxed his arms. Takeshi took a moment to realize that he had just been played but once get got it he let out a slow uncomfortable laugh that the two ended up sharing while Kazuya watched from the sidelines.

"Oh man, you had me going there! I thought you seriously sympathized with a fucking demon." Takeshi laughed while clutching his chest.

"I know, I just wanted to show that, hey, even I have dark side you know." Yuji joked while grabbing his ally's shoulder for support. Neither one seemed to have any problem with the fact that they were joking about killing something in a rather brutal fashion. Kazuya took note of this as well as a sign that the two were slowly becoming friends.

The three began their search through the building for any signs of an exit. They descended a set of stairs and explored the floor below finding nothing of value to them. It was clear from the large number of closed off areas that something horrible had indeed occurred here. While signs of struggles we prevalent, actual bodies were rare. Kazuya speculated that the demons may have eaten the humans after killing them. Whatever light actually entered the building was obscured by the wreckage that was laid against the walls and corners.

"We've got you now humans!" The party looked around for the source of the voice but was helpless against the cloaking darkness.

"Stay together and shoot whatever moves gu-" Kazuya's order was interrupted by a flash of lightning that bound him in place. The light illuminated the dark hallway and revealed the presence of four winged gremlins.

"Kazya!" Yuji clapsed his hands together and uttered a silent prayer as his magic began its work.

"Dia." He chanted healing the burns on Kazuya's body. He was about to reassure the others about their situation but was then bombarded from behind by one of the gremlins.

"DIE SCUM!" Takeshi shouted as he opened fire at the two gremlins in front of him. The first one was hit in the chest with the bullet piercing him without enough force to kill it instantly. The other dodged the shot and dived at Takeshi who dropped to a crap like stance, pulled out his spiked rod and in a lucky swing, batted the demon away.

Once the paralyzing effect on Kazuya's body wore off he grabbed his sword and swung at one of the gremlins missing badly. The gremlin kicked at him forcing him against a wall where he was met by another gremlin who punched him in the face almost breaking his nose. Kazuya however shrugged off the pain and took advantage of their close proximity. He noticed that the gremlin was only about 2 ft tall and was fairly slim. Taking his chance he picked up his katana and with one hand grabbed the demons throat. And with the other hand he forced his katana's blade up vertically, piercing the demon from below and through its shoulder.

"Not by you." Kazuya spat at the corpse that remained impaled by his sword.

After Kazuya was kicked Yuji shoved the demon to the ground where he took a look into its black malevolent eyes. Seeing no reason for humane treatment he indulged in his sickest fantasies of torment. Pinning the demon with his feet he gripped his sword and carefully turned the blade to the part of the demon's body where the wings were connected.

"GAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHH!" The demon's scream nearly burst Yuji's eardrums as he careful cut the demon's wings from its body. Once he was finished he stepped back and examined his work. The demon's face was frozen in humiliated terror that meant numbed the intense physical pain. The gremlin felt as if it had been castrated and was now being mocked for its inadequacy. Terrible shame bearing down on it he ran as fast as he could hoping to hide. However as soon as his back was turned Yuji pulled out his gun and gunned the demon down scowling all the while.

The enemies were dead, that was true for a few seconds until four more gremlins rushed to the scene in defense of their fallen comrades.

"Our brothers will be avenged!" The gremlins cried out before diving in.

"Yuji fired off at the new wave of the demon enemy while Kazuya readied his sword and blocked the oncoming diving attack. Takeshi meanwhile, growing tired of these battles summoned forth his magical talents and unleashed them in all directions.

"Maha-agi" He uttered as a wave of flames shot forth from his hands and caught each of the gremlins on fire. Kazuya & Yuji were lucky enough to duck on time and so they watched from below at the demons fell from the air and collapsed to the ground a charred shell of their former selves.

"You're really on the ball Takeshi!" Yuji complimented his ally as he and Kazuya got back on their feet and dusted themselves off. Takeshi flashed a smug grin as he reached for another cigarette and lit it proudly.

"No problem." He responded feeling pretty good about himself at the moment. Kazuya remained detached from the interaction and instead called forth pixie so she could heal him and the others since Yuji was distracted.

The three didn't encounter any other between then and when they noticed light coming out of a small manager's office. They agreed to check it out but kept their weapons handy just in case.

"Welcome Kazuya." Steven greeted his longtime internet friend from his wheelchair behind a desk.

"Steven! H-how did you…? Never mind! What is this place exactly?"

"Steven? Who's that?"

"Some friend of Kazuya's. Apparently he made the terminals and opened the portal to the abyss."

"Cool… wait, WHAT!"

"Shhhhhhh! They're talking!"

"Oh, sorry."

"This is the laboratory where we developed the Terminal System." Steven continued his explanation. Kazuya noticed an inconsistency and so he held out his hand palm out.

"Hold it, my father told me he was going to America for the project." Kazuya snapped at Steven who paused for a moment before responding.

"I'm afraid that was a lie, the project was top secret you understand and so we couldn't allow anything secret to leak out." Steven's explanation caused Kazuya to lower his head and frown in despondence.

"But then how did my armcomp reach me? I mean if it was that protected…" Kazuya meekly asked. Steven could see from his expression that Kazuya's spirit had already been crushed numerous times. So he didn't have the heart to tell him that he had been the one to leak the machine to him. He had wanted Kazuya to carry happy memories of his father, not to realize the kind of man he had become.

"He was a driven man, he was determined to get that to you and together we set up a series of transfers of the device until it reached you." Steven's explanation brought a sense of relief to Kazuya's face.

"As I was saying, this is where we developed the Terminal System. However, Gotou's influence has spread to here as well, and is now under his control." Next it was Yuji's turn to lay bare his daddy issues.

"Again you say that this Gotou is the one responsible, you aren't referring to Gotou Tokumura are you? My, father." Yuji lunged over at Steven with barley restrained intensity. Steven blinked and paused as he considered what the implications of his loose tongue may be.

"I'm afraid I can say no more on the topic. Needless to say you would be better advised to speak to your father directly." Steven dug up an explanation that he hoped would ease Yuji's temper. And to his relief, it worked, Yuji withdrew himself and apologized.

"So…" Steven searched his mind for the topic he knew he needed to bring up.

"Has my Demon Summoning Program been useful to you?"

Kazuya took a glance at his armcomp and reflected on his experiences with it so far. It had been an invaluable tool so far and was quite likely the only reason he was still alive. With that in mind he answered.

"Yes, yes it has."

"Ah good, but let me ask." Steven seemed to have something on his mind. Kazuya was intrigued.

"Are you satisfied with the number of demons you can control?"

This question was less obvious and took more consideration. After thinking about the matter he realized that even if he was satisfied now, it would only be a matter of time until he was lacking in power. Once he realized that he responded in kind.

"No, more power would be preferable." He blankly stated in a manner that sounded more ambiguous in its meaning than the others had intended. Steven saw the desire for strength in his pupil and decided to satiate that hunger.

"Very well then! Give me that computer, and I'll increase its memory for you!" Steven's excitement became rather infectious so that Kazuya was more than willing to hand over his armcomp.

While Steven and Kazuya dealt with technological matters Yuji and Takeshi talked amongst themselves.

"So you're dads in league with the demons huh? Didn't see that coming." Takeshi remarked sending Yuji into a fit of defensive anxiety.

"H-hold on! We don't know that for sure! And besides my dad's a bigger patriot than I've ever seen. There's no way he'd do anything like this if it wasn't in Japan's best interests." Yuji had heard before from Steven that a man named "Gotou" was involved, but he tried to tell himself that it was just a coincidence. But now it seemed to be clear, his father was behind what was happening, and to Yuji, it just didn't make sense.

"Well, have you considered that perhaps he means to use the demons as a means of reviving the Japanese empire? An old guy like that might still have a bit of that Imperialistic spirit left in him." Takeshi joked simply saying whatever came to mind.

"There's j-just no way that's true. He always said he didn't want to me to grow up in the violent world he grew up in. He was about protecting peace, that's what he dedicated himself to." Just as Yuji began to withdraw into a shell of introspective angst Steven's voice announced his results.

"Done! You should be able to store two more minions than you could before. With this adjustment my Demon Summoning Program should be even more useful" Steven explained his improvements with a childlike sense of pride and accomplishment. Kazuya smiled back.

"Thank you Steven, by the way, do you need our help getting out of her?" Kazuya asked wondering how Steven was supposed to protect himself being wheelchair bound. Steven shook his head in response.

"No need, after all I have the Demon Summoning Program as well. Any danger that comes my way I am more than prepared to deal with." Steven explained in a manner that made Kazuya feel stupid for even having asked.

"I see, well in that case I suppose we should get going." Kazuya made a light wave and started to walk out.

"We're leaving? Alright we'll leave this talk for later alright?" Takeshi suggested. Yuji quickly nodded his head and joined up with the others.

"How the hell did you manage to get in here!" Just as the boys were about to leave they were confronted by an aggravated orc wielding a hand axe.

"Oh dear." Steven put on a faux worried voice seemed to neutralize the orc's attempt at intimidation. Kazuya and the others drew their weapons and prepared to fight.

"Let's move." Kazuya prepared his sword and awaited the orc's incoming attack. He charged clumsily at Kazuya and swung his axe with a notable lack of finesse or skill. Kazuya easily blocked the strike and took a step forward to counter.

"ACK!" The orc moaned in pain as Kazuya's blade dug into his left arm causing him to drop his weapon. Takeshi all the while aimed his gun for the perfect moment to shoot. However his attempt at a headshot missed and instead hit his upper chest. Regardless the shot forced him even further off balance. Yuji saw his opening and as he fell, stabbed the orc through the chest effectively killing the demon.

"Like a well programmed er… program." Steven attempted at a joke after witnessing his friends skills in combat, needless to say it fell flat.

"Err… right." Takeshi feigned amusement.

"Anyway, we'll be going for real now." Kazuya restated his intentions and the boys made their real exit.

The building turned out to only be two floors tall and so the boys were able to leave it only minutes after departing from Steven.

"So what now?" Yuji asked once they were out in the open. The environment around them was in far worse condition than Kichijoji. The only things it seemed that were still upright were the large buildings that surrounded them. Even as the afternoon settled in, an aura of gloom still hung over the city.

"Well, what we need is information first and foremost. About the location of Yuka, Gotou's involvement in this mess, the location of the other Yuka, and if possible, the location of someone who can help us fix this mess." Kazuya's mind shuffled through the few candidates he could think of to fit that last role. The only one he really had any faith in was the man named "Shirogane".

"That'd be pretty sweet yeah!" Takeshi agreed while lighting another cigarette. "Hey, there's supposed to be a nice underground mall around here. If demons seriously are tearing shit up on the surface, that may be the only safe place around. Plus there'd be plenty of people to ask there for info right?"

"Sure, sounds fun." Yuji added with a nod.

The party headed north and into a small building that sheltered the stairs into the mall. They headed down into the mall and took a quick look around.

The sounds of tons of people all busy with activity served as a massive contrast to the desolate nature of the surface. The boys struggled their way through the crowds that were bunched at the entrance.

"Well I suppose we better start our search right guys?" Yuji reminded the others who were still in awe of the amount of people down there.

"Uh, s-sure right." Kazuya tried to hide his anxiety and failed in the process.

"Yeah, no problem." Takeshi let out a lamentful sigh and put his hands in his coat pockets. Unlike Kazuya who avoided the public, he dealt with crowds regularly, though that wouldn't mean to imply that he was any good at it.

"Alright then let's try to stay together." Yuji gave the orders and with that the three began their battle charge (of sorts) into the crowd.

"Hey, lookout. Ugh! Watch it!" Takeshi aggressively charged through the mobs not caring who he shoved or where he shoved them to get through. Despite the bad impression this gave people, it meant that he was the first to break through the crowd and into the left based of the three halls.

"Sorry, pardon me, are you alright? Right this way ma'am." Yuji politely danced his way through the horde with the finesse of a gentleman. He was no stranger to public manners or dealing with large groups of people. This sent him off to the right based hall shortly after Takeshi.

"…" Kazuya remained silent as he put on his headphones and listened to music as passively moved straight through the crowd absentmindedly. He was the last to make his way through the throng of people and the only one to run right into someone. And as if willed by some cosmic rule of drama, that person happened to be a cute young girl around Kazuya's age.

"Oh! I'm sorry!" The girl apologized despite her complete lack of wrong doing.

"…ngh." Kazuya got up from the ground and retrieved his headphones which he placed around his neck. The girl bent down to see if he was okay, even going as far as to place her hand on his forehead, checking for a bruise.

"Are you alright?" The level of concern in her voice was something Kazuya could barley fathom. Once he got back on his feet he looked over at the girl and noticed something about her.

"Yes I'm fine thank you." Kazuya spouted off the canned response while subtly suggesting that she leave him be. The girl wore a long white robe with a blue dress over it. On it there was a prominently displayed picture of a cross in red that was placed proudly in the middle of her legs. He had an idea of what might happen next, and was not looking forward to having to answer.

"Excuse me, may I ask you a question?" She looked at Kazuya with her wide, innocent eyes seeming too pure their own good. While he wanted to refuse, he realized that after being so kind to him, he could at least play along.

"Sure, what is it?"

"Do you believe in god?"

And there it was, one of the most divisive questions known to mankind. And he was going to have to answer it honestly, because he knew that lying to her would only come back to haunt him in the end.

"No."

The look on her face that followed was just about what Kazuya expected, as was the reaction she gave.

"That's not right!"

"Is that so?" Kazuya snarked.

"No! It isn't!" The girl fumed at Kazuya's answer and glib response. Her posture became noticeably distressed and she started acting personally insulted. And then before Kazuya could walk away she pulled a flyer from her pocket and thrust it into his hands.

"Join our Mesia Church, together we will pray to god for salvation!" The girl was in full on evangelist mode now and Kazuya's patience had just run thin.

"I'm not here to humor your delusional notions of a deity, thanks." Kazuya unleashed his brand of cold sarcasm upon the girl who now felt as if this was a sort of personal challenge to convert him. The end result of this being that even as Kazuya leisurely walked through the halls away from her, she started to chase him.

"Hey get back here! If everyone prays to God, he will surely send a savior to rescue humanity!" The girl preached as she ran, stumbling over her robes to keep up with Kazuya's brisk pace.

"Look I've read the bible okay? When trouble comes a' knockin, god's modus operandi tends to be more along the lines of kill everyone and start over. So I doubt that he will be of any help." Kazuya continued to dismiss the girls attempts to reach him, each one fueled with a bit of the frustration he felt over his current predicament. As if he hadn't say anything at all she continued.

"In these dark times, God is humanities only hope… there is none other we can turn to!"

"Yeah, yeah, help me obi-god YHVH! You're humanities only hope!"

END OF CHAPTER VIII

_A/N: Alright, I'm tired, creatively exhausted and filled with anxiety over how people will react to the direction this is going. I'm just now getting to the meat of the first act, and will be happy to sink my teeth into the conflict as it grows. I swear I've written enough scenes where the characters simply look on in disbelief/horror to fill most stories. Of course the bit at the end was fun for me to write (yes I made the Mesian girl look kind of silly, but hey 95% of her dialogue was from the game) and while I'm sure not all of you will share my sense of humor regarding well… religion… but hey, if that stuff was a touchy subject for you. You wouldn't be reading this story would you? Anyway…_

**Yuji: **Drake…. Are you using Kazuya to parrot your own views regarding theology?

**Drake: **What? No!... okay maybe a little…

**Yuji: **That's lame man, really, really effin lame! You call yourself a writer!

**Drake: **Actually I don't-

**Yuji: **NOT THE POINT! What is important here is that you learn to keep this story true to the spirit of the game. No one wants to read some self-indulgent author tract where the whole story is constructed purely to promote the authors own particular views on a subject. That kind of thing get's called preachy, and coming from you, is kinda hypocritical don't cha think?

**Kazuya: **Lay off Yuji, it was just a bit of comedy. Besides if you know what happens in this game, then you realize that my statements are actually pretty accurate.

**Yuji: **Kazuya! Are you telling me you agree with what this guy said?

**Kazuya: **Actually I agree with what **I **said.

**Yuji: **Ugh, what he wrote for you to say that's what matters here!

**Kazuya: **So what? He writes everything you say too, especially here in this bonus sections where he isn't bound by canon or the story.

**Yuji: **Waaa… huh?

Suddenly an existential moment is felt by all and the forth wall is broken even further.


End file.
